Click here to get your free copy.

Check it out!

Click here to get your free copy.

Check out the awesome cover for this edition:

Description:

Bram Stoker Award nominee Jeremy C. Shipp spins 13 tales of horror and dark humor in this highly conceptual collection. Angels and demons, husbands and wives, tormented ghosts and an army of men made of soap–all of them trapped in attics of the mind, attics of heaven or hell, the attics we make for ourselves or with which we ensnare others.

Meet a paranoid astronaut whose jealousy drives him to extremes beyond murder…a miniature circus spawned from the mind of a woman with too much control…the underling demon Globcow who desires redemption even more than the taste of human feet…

Men, women, children, and things beyond imagination all interconnect in ATTIC CLOWNS, where laughter is only the prelude to the bizarre and terrible.

“Jeremy C. Shipp’s boldness, daring, originality, and sheer smarts make him one of the most vital younger writers who have colonized horror literature in the past decade. Shipp’s modernist clarity, plus his willingness to risk damn near everything, put him up at the head of the pack with the very best.”
–Peter Straub, author of Ghost Story

“Shipp’s clear, insistent voice pulls you down into the rabbit hole and doesn’t let go.”
–Jack Ketchum, author of The Girl Next Door

Here’s a link to the trade paperback edition.

ATTIC CLOWNS is also available on Kindle and Nook.

Today, you can grab my monster anthology ABERRATIONS for just 99 cents.

Description:

Jeremy C. Shipp has brought together ten monster tales from today’s masters of horror and supernatural suspense. The anthology includes a new tale by Shipp.

Stories by:
Scott Nicholson
Lisa Tuttle
Nate Kenyon
Lisa Morton
Kealan Patrick Burke
Simon Wood
Elizabeth Massie
Joe McKinney
Joseph Nassise
Jeremy C. Shipp

ABERRATIONS is available on Kindle.

And Nook.

Description:

Bram Stoker Award nominee Jeremy C. Shipp spins 13 tales of horror and dark humor in this highly conceptual collection. Angels and demons, husbands and wives, tormented ghosts and an army of men made of soap–all of them trapped in attics of the mind, attics of heaven or hell, the attics we make for ourselves or with which we ensnare others.

Meet a paranoid astronaut whose jealousy drives him to extremes beyond murder…a miniature circus spawned from the mind of a woman with too much control…the underling demon Globcow who desires redemption even more than the taste of human feet…

Men, women, children, and things beyond imagination all interconnect in ATTIC CLOWNS, where laughter is only the prelude to the bizarre and terrible.

“Jeremy C. Shipp’s boldness, daring, originality, and sheer smarts make him one of the most vital younger writers who have colonized horror literature in the past decade. Shipp’s modernist clarity, plus his willingness to risk damn near everything, put him up at the head of the pack with the very best.”
–Peter Straub, author of Ghost Story

“Shipp’s clear, insistent voice pulls you down into the rabbit hole and doesn’t let go.”
–Jack Ketchum, author of The Girl Next Door

ATTIC CLOWNS is available on Kindle and Nook.

Brent Michael Kelley is the author of a fantastic novel called Chuggie and the Desecration of Stagwater. I highly recommend it. Brent has taken time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about his book, breakfast cereal characters, and other topics.

Jeremy C. Shipp: Can you tell us a bit about Chuggie and the Desecration of Stagwater?

Brent Michael Kelley: Sure. My protagonist Chuggie is the embodiment of Drought. He’s this sort of drunken drifter/junk salesman who’s fond of telling wild stories, and trouble always seems to find him. He gets to a town called Stagwater, and meets a witch in the woods. He tries to help her by going into town, where he’s lied to and manipulated. We got magic and monsters and plenty of rambling, drunken stories. I told one friend it was like Fear and Loathing in Middle Earth. It’s very light-hearted. Oh, and dark. If you like blood, grab a poncho and step right up. Release is scheduled for December 1, 2011. Shoot, is that today?

I’d also like to point out that, while I’d been tinkering with the story for years, I never had a clue how to tell it well. Then I took the Jeremy C. Shipp writing workshop. Boom. I learned how to write good and made some wonderful new friends. I came away with a new understanding of my story, as well as a first chapter that was miles beyond what I started with. That’s also where I met my publisher, Kate Jonez of Omnium Gatherum. She liked my story and asked to publish it. I said, “Awesome.” Then she helped me hammer it into something that I think people will actually like reading.

JCS: I’m very happy that you found the workshop to be beneficial to you! If you could make your own crayon color, what would it be called?

BMK: Grold. It’s a mix between the green and gold of the Green Bay Packers. Mmm, grold… Now there’s a color that smells like Championship!

JCS: What is it about writing fiction that you enjoy?

BMK: I like building on ideas, realizing them. It’s easy to sit around saying “I should write a story about haunted goat cheese terrorizing a trailer park!” But if you never write it, you start to sound like a crazy person. So then you sit down and forge your vague idea into something clear. Keep adding, then saw some pieces off. You get to meet new and fascinating people. Then, after you torture them for a while, you can show your friends.

JCS: If you could surgically attach any object to your body, what would you choose?

BMK: My first response is a shoulder-mounted plasma cannon, like that movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kindergarten Cop. Was it Kindergarten Cop? I don’t know, it had Danny DeVito in it. I think a plasma cannon on my shoulder would really get me a lot of respect at Tuesday morning Bingo. But if that’s not an option, my second choice would be a megaphone. If I can’t be right, I should at least be loud.

JCS: Excellent choices! (And yes, that was definitely Kindergarten Cop you’re thinking of.) What would you do if you woke up and found yourself transformed into a giant coconut monkey?

BMK: I’d be calling YOU, because you obviously had something to do with it. But you’re on the West Coast, and I’m inWisconsin, so there’s a time difference. I’d have two hours to kill before you got out of bed and got my voicemail. I’d probably just watch Flapjack until then. Maybe Sons of Anarchy, depending on the morning.

JCS: You caught me! I put magic coconut monkey powder in your blueberry smoothie. Speaking of blue things, have you ever accidentally stepped on a Smurf?

BMK: Interesting question. I almost stepped on several smurfs two summers ago, but they dove to safety at the last second. I crushed the hell out of their Smurfberry cart, though. That’s when P’apah, their shaman, put a Smurf-curse on me. You don’t want no Smurf-curse. Ha! Like I need to tell YOU that!

JCS: I lose more organs that way! What’s your favorite place in the world?

BMK: There’s a stretch of Highway 64 inWisconsin. I take it from Bloomer to New Richmond. It’s all farmland and forest. It’s wide open, and there aren’t many cars to meet. I’ve seen deer, foxes, bears, turkeys. There’s this burnt-out farmhouse next to the road that I used to stop and photograph. The whole stretch is amazing year round. At least to me. That’s also where a lot of my novel was written. I used to jabber into my voice recorder with Tom Waits playing in the background. I’d work through the story, passing by crows on fence posts. It is wonderfully spooky at night.

JCS: I’d love to see it! Who would you rather hire: a monkey butler, a robot coachman, or a yard gnome scullery maid?

BMK: Robot coachman, final answer. Breakneck speed with robot precision? That’s what I’m talkin bout.

JCS: If you could have any breakfast cereal character as a sidekick, who would you choose?

BMK: Snap, Crackle, Pop. A lot of people don’t know this, but those three little elves? They’re one creature. It’s true! They are one mind across three bodies. I’d drive it insane by sealing one body in a shoe box and taking the other two with me on all my adventures.

JCS: You rascal you! What can you tell us about your future projects?

BMK: Coming this month, I’ll have a short story appearing in the Detritus anthology, also from Omnium Gatherum. That book has an all star list of contributors, and it’s pretty fantastic to be included with them. Then, this winter I’ll be hard at work on the follow up to Chuggie and the Desecration of Stagwater. My publisher wants more Chuggie, so I’d best deliver. I’ve got some fun stuff in store for ol’ Chuggie, and I’m finding out more every day. I might need to take a few trips down Hwy 64 with my voice recorder, too. Thanks for the interview, Jeremy. I quite enjoy our conversations!

JCS: Thank you, Brent!

Brent Michael Kelley lives in the Wisconsin Northwoods with such creatures as hairless dogs, a snake named Darth Batman, and the woman he married on Halloween. By day, he’s a graphic designer. By night, he’s a painter, a writer, and a winemaker. He can be found on the web at brentmichaelkelley.com.

Right now, my publisher RDS Press is selling many of their ebooks for just $2.99.

This includes many of my books, including the following:

(Click on a cover to check out the Amazon page.)

UPDATE: George Peyton won the auction. Thank you for the support, George. And a big thanks to everyone who bid and who helped spread the word about the auction.

To help raise money for my publishing company, I’m auctioning off this little monster plushie.

This monster plushie is one-of-a-kind. He was designed and created by me, Jeremy C. Shipp.

If you win the auction, you get the monster as well as your very own  Titanium Spork.

Upon request, I’ll be happy to sign the monster or the spork.

The bid on the auction, all you have to do is post your bid in the comments section. You can bid as many times as you’d like.

The auction will close on November 20 at 5PM PST.

(If you win the auction, there will be no additional charge for shipping.)

The bidding starts at $35.

S. S. Michaels is the author of a brilliant novel called Idols & Cons. The book is disturbing, intense and funny as hell. S. S. Michaels has taken time out of her busy schedule to chat with me about her book, monsters made of candy, and other topics.

Jeremy C. Shipp: Can you tell us a little (or a lot) about Idols & Cons?

S. S. Michaels: After a night of passion with a rock star she didn’t want to meet, poor Mary Bellows goes missing. Damien Tungsten knows where she is, though. After accidentally strangling her, he rolls her up in an expensive rug and dumps her in the trash. Hours later, his neighbor, one psychotic visual artist, Patrick Salinger, finds her. He drags her back into their apartment building, planning to fashion some ghastly and priceless installation pieces out of her dead body. One boy, John Thomas – meth dealer, high school loser, and son of an alcoholic – witnesses both incidents. Unfortunately for John, Damien sees him in his window as he flees the scene.

Following a battle with his own conscience, John confronts Patrick. Bad idea. Patrick forces John into helping him dismember Mary. Freaked out and in need of a smoke, John is allowed to step outside for a moment. As he puffs away, pondering his predicament, a big old Cadillac screeches to a stop right in front of him and whisks him away to the desert. When they arrive at their destination – a swank rehab facility – John finds Damien waiting to see him. Convinced that he’s about to be killed, John prays that Damien just makes it quick and painless. Damien’s got something else in mind, though – something much more painful than death: John, a punk rocker to the core, will be taken into Damien’s boy band, where he can be babysat twenty-four seven.

Reluctantly, John is transformed into teen idol Jake Wolfram. His ego spins out of control, swelling his head and his desire for even more fame and power. In an act of revenge, John uses his stash of drugs to weaken Damien and switch places with him – the imprisoned becomes the imprisoner. Patrick, also seeking revenge, comes out of hiding to attend John’s debut art exhibit. After shooting the place up, Patrick is carted off to prison where he ultimately makes it to death row. At the boy band’s performance immediately following the art gallery debacle, Damien collapses with a heart attack, caused by an overdose of cocaine. John has everything he wants: a successful art career, a promising music career, and a house in the Valley for his mom.

Back to exact his own revenge at a book signing, Damien pulls a gun and takes aim at John, ending the story with a bang.

JCS: In a battle royale, which McDonalds character would be victorious?

SSM: I’d have to go with the Grimace. He’s definitely got the size and weight advantage. And have you seen that crazed look in his eyes? I wouldn’t mess with that guy.

JCS: Me neither. How would you describe your creative process when it comes to writing novels?

SSM: I generally latch on to some weird idea I hear on the news or through social media, and I go off on a researching spree, which generates more weird ideas. Then, I make an insanely detailed outline, which I throw out about half-way through my story when I allow my characters to just take over and show me what they’re made of.

JCS: Did any real life event inspire you to write Idols & Cons?

SSM: Idols & Cons started life as a screenplay, which was inspired by time I spent working on various music award shows. I caught a glimpse of just what goes on backstage and at after-parties, and the whole thing just sparked my imagination. I thought how awful it would be to be stuck in the celebrity lifestyle if that just wasn’t your thing.

JCS: How would you defeat a monster made of candy corn and circus peanuts?

SSM: I’d definitely use a flamethrower.

JCS: Good plan. How would you define fame?

SSM: Fame is never being able to go to the grocery store.

JCS: If you were to create your own fragrance, what three smells would you combine?

SSM: Let’s see, I’d want it to be memorable. So, how about some candy corn, garlic, and sandalwood. Mmmmm.

JCS: What can you tell us about your upcoming projects?

SSM: I’ve got one project completed, just waiting to be published, called REVIVAL HOUSE. It’s kind of a Fight Club meets Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil meets “Ghost Adventures” meets real-life reanimation.

Another project I’ve got going involves a teenager with growth hormone deficiency trying to escape his life in a cult. He finally gets the girl of his dreams (a local store cashier) to take him to a hockey game, where he gets hit in the head with a puck, which brings out some supernatural power in him. He eventually finds his way out of the cult, but it may not be exactly what he was hoping for.

And, I’ve got two anthologies I’m working on – one called ICE PICKS: MOST CHILLING TALES FROM THE ICE PLAZA (Rainstorm Press) with a bunch of stories from a lot of really talented writers, and the other called DETRITUS (Omnium Gatherum), also with some fabulous stories.

JCS: If you were a superhero (and I believe you are), who would be your arch nemesis?

SSM: I had an arch nemesis, actually. Last year, the same car would be in front of me every day in the pick-up line at my kids’ school. Some days, I’d leave extra early and he/she would be right behind me. I wonder what happened to that person. Maybe the curse I put on them finally worked. (Or their kid switched schools. Either way, I won!)

JCS: Good for you!

–

S. S. Michaels is a writer of transgressive/dark literary fiction. She’s jumped out of an airplane, driven a race car, and traveled the world. She lives with her husband and two kids, two dogs, and a bearded dragon on the Georgia coast. Her upcoming novel, IDOLS & CONS (Omnium Gatherum Media) is set to be released November 15, 2011, with a couple of anthologies coming out shortly thereafter. Also, look for a story in Evil Jester Press’s ATTIC TOYS anthology.

Idols & Cons is available on Amazon.