ATTENTION!!!
Coming in Spring of 2010: Fiction Prodigies & Legends, a collection of in depth interviews with some of the best established and up and coming writers within the horror genre!
The guest list includes:
Contents:
Foreword Jeani Rector
Interviews
Interview with the late Joseph McGee, author of The Reaper
East Texas Gothic: Joe R. Lansdale
Christ The Lord authoress Anne Rice
Goodbye, Dark Love authoress Roberta Lannes
Needles and Sins author John Everson
They Hunger author Scott Nicholson
Bell, Book, and Beyond : P.D. Cacek
The Road To Hell : Gerard Houarner
Meat author Joseph D'Lacey
Anno Dracula author Kim Newman
Dying To Live author Kim Paffenroth
Ralan.com mastermind and author Ralan Conley
The Void authoress Teri A. Jacobs
The Manitou author Graham Masterton
Monster Behind The Wheel authors Michael McCarty & Mark McLaughlin
The Haunted authoress Tamara Thorne
Horror Sinisteria authoress Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc
The Blackest Heart author Vince Churchill
Scribes Of Speculative Fiction author Cristopher DeRose
Around A Dark Corner authoress Jeani Rector
Bleeder author Dave Bonnewell
Horror ,Crime, and Suspense Author Jason M. Tucker
Paying the Piper author Simon Wood
The Man On The Ceiling co-author Steve Rasnic tem
Bestial author Ray Garton
Everdead author Rio Youers
Horror and dark fiction authoress Myrrym Davies
Dead City author Joe McKinney
Michael Laimo author of Deep In The Darkness
Author and playwright Chet Williamson
Horror author and film critic L.L. Soares
Jack Ketchum
Jeremy C. Shipp
Authoress Polly Frost
Authoresss Terrie Leigh Relf
Behind The Mask Of The Horror Actor author and actor Doug Bradley
Dead City author Joe McKinney
Authoress Cynthia L. Dragish
Author Tim Waggoner
Author Craig Spector
Author Garth A. Buchholz
Author J.T Carney
Author Travis James
The Vampire Keeper authoress Laura Bickle
This book will dedicated to the late Joseph McGee, who was sadly taken from us on Thanksgiving, 2008.
Excerpts from the book:
This book is dedicated to Joseph McGee
1985 - 2008
Sadly missed by family and friends
"The brightest flame burns quickest."
Joseph McGee
Preface
This book isn't only about writers, it is also about friends.
I have become acquainted with a lot of writers over the last several years, and one thing I have noticed about all of them is not only their dedication to their craft, but also how friendly are.
Writers in general are a different breed; they seem to live inside their own little world - some even becoming very reclusive for long periods of time - but regardless of their seemingly odd behavior, they are generally friendly, professional, and respectful toward their fellow writers.
Such as in the case of one Joseph McGee, a talented and friendly young writer who, unfortunately, through a cruel twist of fate - or an act of God- was taken from us on Thanksgiving day this year.
He was liked - and loved, I'm sure - by most who were lucky enough to come in contact with him, and will be sadly missed by all. He was the personification of '' friendly writer,'' as well as just a great guy all the way around.
I luckily had the opportunity to interview him just several weeks before his untimely death, and it was one of the most enjoyable interviews I've ever conducted with a writer. He was friendly, personable, laid back, and in general just a joy to chat with.
I wish I could have gotten to know him better, but even though I did not, I still feel as though I was blessed for having met up with him, even if only by email correspondence.
This book is about friends, and dedicated to one certain friend in general.
I hope that after reading this book, you will feel as though you have met some new friends as well.
Welcome, friends, to Fiction Prodigies and Legends.
David Byron / April 13th, 2009
A Few Kind Words…
When I first encountered Joseph McGee, I was waiting for my first novel to be published. Well, things didn't work out very well with that particular, so called "publisher," - except for one thing: I met some wonderful people through them.
Joe contacted me on Myspace, introducing himself by letting me know that the same company was publishing him. I was more than just a little taken back by his young age - I was downright jealous! It had taken me ten years to get my first book published and here was Joe - published and barely in his twenties!
I swallowed the green ooze I felt and began talking to him, via messages.
At one point, he asked if I would be willing to read his book, Snow Hill, and let me know what I thought of it. I was honored that he valued my opinion.
After reading his novel, I was humbled as well.
It would be an understatement and an injustice to him to simply say that Joe was "talented." He truly wove words as if they were threads in a grand tapestry. I looked forward to continue to read his work as he grew and evolved, not just as a writer, but also as a person - and he was eager to learn and improve on his craft.
I mistakenly thought we had all the time in the world to get to know each other better, as writers and as people, and so I foolishly procrastinated on further conversations, outside of writing.
A few months ago, I began trying to find a market for an epic poem I originally penned when I was eighteen. Seeking criticism, as well as praise, I sent it to Joe. A few days later, he sent back his appraisal:
"Awesome! Man, Jane, this really makes me never want to try poetry!"
That is the guy of person Joe was. He was sensitive, sweet and genuine.
As tears slide down my face in remembrance of him, I am both saddened and blessed. We should all feel blessed to have known Joe, and to be able to read the works he left behind. Although we are sad at his passing, we must remember that we will meet again.
Thank you, Joe. Thank you for being in my life. Thank you for giving us your words.
-Jane Timm Baxter
***
Farewell, Joseph McGee
By Joe McKinney
There is something about the death of the young and the talented that seems to resonate with us. We mourn for the tragedy of a life cut short, but also for all the wonderful creations that will never be. We look at artists like Buddy Holly, Stephen Crane, Robert Howard, John Keats, and River Phoenix, just to name a few, and we marvel at how much beauty they managed to bring into the world with the short time they were given. They lit up our world.
Is it any wonder we compare them to shooting stars?
I've been thinking along these lines since I learned of Joseph McGee's death on Thanksgiving morning. He was only twenty-three years old, the victim of diabetes.
But in the time he had he managed to give us a score of wonderful stories, such as the Phil's Place trilogy, "Only Death Waits...," and "Room 409." He also gave us a terrifying novella called "The Reaper," and the novels In the Wake of the Night, Snow Hill, and A Cold Day in Hell.
In a blurb for his novel Snow HillI wrote that Joseph McGee's star is on the rise. When I wrote that, I wasn't just blowing smoke. I was very much in earnest.
What I saw in Joe was a young writer with staggering potential. His early writings have some rough patches. You notice the rare awkward misstep and you smile, not because the writing is bad (because it isn't; it's surprisingly good), but because you sense that you are in the presence of an intelligent younger mind that demands to know why the world can't be black and white. If something is right, it's right. If something is wrong, it's wrong. Why does growing older have to mean accepting shades of gray?
Here's the issue. Joe was young, true, but he wasn't a child. He had the kind of intelligence and probing intensity that could not be easily dismissed or mollified with a truism like, "You'll see when you're a little older." His writing was changing at a staggering rate, maturing rapidly. Where before there were the kind of scares that caused you to jump, and then made you smile at yourself for being so silly, his later writings show the kind of characterization that stirs your empathy and leaves you with the feeling that you've just said goodbye to a good friend after you turn the last page.
He was becoming the kind of writer we all want to be, one who demands your full attention.
He challenged us in that way--and not just with his writing. He walked the walk. Joe McGee was an advocate in his community for the homeless and those living below the poverty line. He organized people and resources to put genuine relief on the streets of Worchester, Massachusetts. And that is a tradition that his family and friends are carrying on this Christmas in his honor.
Those of us who knew him will remember him for who he was, the gentle giant whose enthusiasm for writing and for the joy of living rubbed off on everybody he touched.
For everyone else, go check out "The Reaper" and Snow Hill. Catch a glimpse at the greatness that was on our horizon.
From all of us, Joe, farewell. We're gonna miss you.
***
Joe was a giving, caring soul filled with a talent for the written word and a driving love for the craft. He and I both shared that love of the craft and even had stories printed in the Help charity anthology. I only knew him in a MySpace friendship for about a year, but in that brief time I have come to admire and respect the young man greatly, not just for the written work and charitable time he delivered, but for the potential he had to do so much more. Though he only had time on this earth to pen a fraction of the stories residing within him, he gave of himself wholly, freely and genuinely, and for that his name will live on for a long, long time. Joe will be sorely missed by myself and countless others, yet he will always be loved, admired and remembered.
- Dave Bonnewell
More updates as they become available.
Best regards,
Iron Dave / http://nvhmag1.webs.com
