The March round now begins: today it's The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales that gets the no-cost treatment.  It will be free today, March 7th, until tomorrow, March 8th.  Head on over to the 'Zon and pick yourselves up a copy!

So here we go folks.  The paperback versions of The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair is now live and ready to be purchased over at the 'Zon. Click here to head over there and pick one up!

Also, it's time to strap in and get the words flowing on the The Summer Son: The Rift Book IV.  I'll be starting tomorrow (March 4th), and the goal is to write 10,000 words a week over twelve weeks, which would put the second draft as being finished before the first week of June.  I'll be posting updates every Saturday night to let you all keep track of my progress.

So here's where we stand right now:

March 3: 9,828 words


I'll be seeing you next week at this time, if not sooner.

Peace, gentle readers.

RJD

Yes, here we are folks.  The new anthology is now here...at least the ebook is.  The proofs for the paperback should be coming today, so if it looks good, it should go live in the next few days.  For now, take a look at the fabulous new cover, description, and table of contents, which includes 12 fantastic authors.  To say we're excited about this product is a bit of an understatement!

…a young man tries to build a better life while trapped in a mall after a plague has killed off most of humanity…

…zombies overrun a world gone mad, leaving a boy with no choice but to rely on possibly mystical means of escape…

…Halloween night brings out a darkness so threatening that a young couple’s only hope of survival may be a procession of strange, ghostly children…

…when the world is given a brief glimpse of divinity, a formerly disabled man must come to grips with the fact that not everything is as good as it seems…

These tales and many more await in The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair, the new collection edited by Robert J. Duperre. Thirteen talented authors have been assembled, bringing with them the best they have to offer in a wide range of horror, be it slice-of-life or paranormal in nature. Also included are two bonus stories by the editor.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Plastic by J.L. Bryan
The Indian Rope Trick by D.P. Prior
Night Night by Daniel Pyle
Dead Things by Michael Crane
Does Laura Like Elephants? by Steven Pirie
39 Days by Robert J. Duperre
The Candle Eaters by K. Allen Wood
Black Mary by Mercedes M. Yardley
Exhibit C by David McAfee
The Canoe by Joel Arnold
Destination by Benjamin X. Wretlind
The Ghastly Bath by Dawn McCullough-White
Worldwide Event by David Dalglish
2 Bonus stories by Robert J. Duperre
Traipsing Through the Dark: The Stories Behind the Stories

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ON AMAZON.COM!

I just want to take a moment and show some appreciation for all the awesome people in my life...

To Jess Torrant, Artwiffy, for being smart, supportive, sexy, and downright fantastic...

To my parents, who've dealt with my quirks all my life and still love me...

To Jesse, who's been more than a little bit of an inspiration to me and is never afraid to tell it straight...

To Mercedes Yardley, whose own talent and overall awesomeness remains a driving force behind my own work...

To Jason Letts, who's always there with a joke to ease the tension...

To Dave Dalglish, who gives me more entertainment than I could ever wish for...

To Dan Arenson, whose ability to craft an intriguing story is only surpassed by his ability to rant...

To Mike Crane, who's always on my side no matter what...

To Sean Sweeny, who's got this way about him that's just lovable...

To Amanda Hocking, for giving everyone the example of success not going to one's head...

To David McAfee, for being an inspirational figure as one who's doing it...

To Caton Easton, who's always been there as my biggest supporter even though he's across the pond...

To Steven Pirie, for writing some of the best books I've ever read....

To John Skipp, whose words of support helped give me the confidence to make tough decisions and stick to them...

To Walter Mathis, who's been as constant as anything for me over the last 10 years...

To Pat Bukowski, whose ability to sing sometimes goes to his head...

To EJ Stevens, who's the best friend a writer of the paranormal could have...

To Heather Bannon, OnePushyFox from the Bewitched Bookworms, for just being fucking awesome...

To Sharon Rosen of Pixel of Ink, who's doing her best to further the careers of so many struggling writers...

And finally, to anyone who's ever bought and read our books, whether you loved or hated them.  It's you we do this for, and I hope we've entertained.

Okay, that's enough sap for today...

RJD

The review blog, SyriaSays.com, was nice enough to give our little short story collection a rather glowing sendup.

SYRIA SAYS REVIEW

That's right, everyone.  The Gate is now available in ebook format for the Barnes and Noble Nook!  Click the link below to see the new product page:

The Gate: 13 Dark & Odd Tales for the Nook

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.