That's right, folks.  My new compilation of short stories - "The Gate: 13 Dark & Odd Tales" - is now available in ebook format for the Amazon Kindle.  Some of the stories are intense, some are poignant,  some of just made to entertain.  There are also four additional tales by fantastic writers Mecedes M. Yardley, David Dalglish, Daniel Pyle, and David McAfee.  Feel free to check it out.  There is also a super-special bonus at the end.  Click on the image to go to the Amazon page.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction
The Gatekeeper by RJD
Sullivan Street by RJD
The Container of Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley
Sins of Our Fathers by RJD
Blight by Daniel Pyle
Feeding the Passion by RJD
Dispatch #337 by RJD
Exhibit A by David McAfee
The Emancipation of Po-Po by RJD
I Spy by RJD
Kitty in the Cellar by David Dalglish
Perfect Blue Buildings by RJD
Empty Spaces by RJD
Traipsing Through the Dark (by all authors)
Excerpt from "Dead of Winter: The Rift Book II"

(as a reminder, this book will also be reissued in January as a digest-sized print book

Here is where we stand right now when it pertains to the two separate projects we have going on right now:

#1 - Dead Of Winter

Yes, the final round of edits for the second book of The Rift are now finished!  The manuscript has been sent off to our first editor to look over.  When it comes back, it will be sent to yet another editor.  By the time it comes back to us complete, it should be a pretty spit-and-polished final product - unlike the many versions of The Fall in which the mistakes we (I) made cost me a ton of money and will not be repeated.

Jesse is also hard at work putting together the cover and interior illustrations.  When he's finished, we'll be putting it all together, producing the paperback and hardcover, and then it's up to me to format and upload a version for the Kindle, Nook, and iPad.  Yes, it's still a lot of work to do, and many more sleepless nights.  But in the end, it's all worth it.  This is going to be a fantastic book, better than the first, and will hopefully please those looking forward to following the exploits of Josh, Kyra, Colin, and a host of new and interesting characters.  And yes, our release date is still tentatively scheduled for around December 15th.

#2 - The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales

This is a special - and now collaborative - project.  I have collected nine of my best short stories, and gathered contributions from a few great writers I know - David Dalglish, Mercedes Yardley, David McAfee, and Daniel Pyle.  These shorts will all be gathered in this 50,000 word tome.  It will be released at first for the Kindle only, again with Jesse's artwork adorning the cover.  Then, after we put finishing touches on Dead of Winter, we will go about creating a digest-sized paperback, complete with sketches from the fabulous artist himself based on the stories included.

There are a wide range of tales in here, everything from straight horror to science fiction to slipstream.  It's quite exciting for me, and all the stories (even mine) are good.  Look out for this to be released by the middle or end of this month.  Here is the table of contents in the order I have them right now:

1 - The Gate
2 - Sullivan Street
3 - Container of Sorrows (Mercedes M. Yardley)
4 - The Sins of the Father
5 - Blight (Daniel Pyle)
6 - Feeding the Passion
7 - Dispatch #337
8 - Exhibit A (David McAfee)
9 - The Bandits of Yaddo
10 - I Spy
11 - Kitty in the Cellar (David Dalglish)
12 - Perfect Blue Buildings
13 - Empty Spaces

That's all I have for now, folks!  Check back later for more.

Since Lost aired its finale earlier this year, there hasn't been a television program that has interested me in the slightest.  Sure, there have been nights of having trashy reality tv on in the background while Jess and I chat, but nothing I had to set time aside for.  In many ways that's a good thing.  The more time I spend in the dungeon hammering out stories, the better for me.

But that's all changed now.

That's right, folks, AMC has turned one of the best horror comic series of all time, The Walking Dead, into a weekly series!

I watched the pilot episode last night, and let me tell you, it was fan-freaking-tastic!  Gory and emotionally charged, it followed the storyline of the comic almost to a T.  I found it truly amazing that a basic cable channel could show as many disturbing images as they did or is allowed to use the type of strong language, but color me ecstatic that they are.  The first episode was great, and hopefully, it'll have an audience for a long time to come.

Looks like my Sunday nights at 10 are now writing-free.  And I'm not sad about this.

- RJD