Chris Welch
This month we have announcements from chapter members W.D. Gagliani and Dean Wild, along with a special request from chapter president Dave Rank for our members to ponder and provide feedback about, plus a potential opportunity for chapter members taking place in Random Lake.
First, W.D. Gagliani and co-author David Benton (authors of the Nick Lupo series and Fauna, respectively) announce that their new book, Killer Lake, will be released by Deadite Press on August 15, with an official launch party to take place at KillerCon in Austin, Texas. The book can be preordered at Amazon and the Deadite Press Web site (https://deaditepress.com/).
Gagliani and Benton also will be Thorne & Cross‘s guests on Blog Talk Radio’s Haunted Nights Live, on Thursday, August 15, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (that would be 7 p.m. Cheesehead Time). You can listen to it live online or later, after it has been archived.
“We will be at KillerCon in Austin, talking to Thorne and Cross about our new Deadite Press novel Killer Lake, which launches at the convention, plus extreme horror mash-ups, collaborations, and any horror-related topic that comes along,” Gagliani said.
W.D. Gagliani is the author of the Nick Lupo series, as well as The Judas Hit and Savage Nights. Gagliani can be contacted at http://www.wdgagliani.com. David Benton is the author of Fauna. Together they have written not only Killer Lake, but also numerous short stories published in various anthologies such as Snafu; The X-Files: Trust No One; Splatterpunk: Fighting Back; Past Indiscretions: The Best of Splatterpunk zine; Dark Passions: Hot Blood 13, and many others.
Can’t make it to KillerCon? Fear not, Wisconsin chapter members, because Gagliani and Benton will also have a Wisconsin-based release party for Killer Lake in Bay View, a suburb of Milwaukee, on Monday, August 19. The event will take place 7-10 p.m. inside the Tonic Tavern, located at 2335 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View. All are welcome, and according to Gagliani, “I hear rumors of giveaways, but details are hazy.”
About Killer Lake: Recipe for a Satanic panic — Take a medium-sized cult and their best demonic summoning. Mix with a dash of strange psychic powers. Generously add murderous reanimated corpses, inbred cannibal rednecks, sex-starved half-naked coeds, horny football players, and a surprise creature or two. Sprinkle in a fancy log-cabin mansion, a labyrinthine set of tunnels, and a secret ritual chamber. Stir. Bake on high at 666 degrees. You know it’s gonna be one killer party … “ROSEMARY’S BABY meets TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE! Deadly rituals, a secret coven and a cavalcade of unclad co-eds. Killer Lake is a devil of a good time!” — John Everson, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of The House By The Cemetery and The Devil’s Equinox.
Furthermore, a reprint of a Gagliani and Benton story, “Love at First Sting,” will be appearing in the Past Indiscretions anthology from the folks at Splatterpunk Zine. The book, Past Indiscretions: The Best of Splatterpunk Zine, includes 13 stories of classic splatterpunk taken from the pages of the cult horror zine, featuring some of the best writers working in the field of horror fiction. Available on Kindle and in paperback. Link: https://splatterpunkzine.wordpress.com/2019/07/04/past-indiscretions-the-very-best-of-splatterpunk-zine/
Next up, Dean Wild will be making the following appearances in the Badger State in support of his latest work, The Crymost.
- On Tuesday, August 6, at 7 p.m., he will be doing a reading at Annie’s Fountain City Cafe on Main Street in Fond du Lac. Several local authors will be reading on this night as well, and Dean says, “I am excited to be one of them.”
- On Saturday, August 17, he will be at the Local Author’s Market at the Half Price Books store in Appleton. This outdoor event will take place 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
- On Sunday, August 18, he will be signing books at the Novel Bay Booksellers in Sturgeon Bay, 1-3 p.m.
Here is a special request to all chapter members from Dave Rank:
I have a question for you. Call it an informal survey. As you may know, I run an annual, week-long, residential novel writing workshop coupled with a writing retreat for writers in all genres. I am considering starting up a separate writing retreat specifically for the speculative genres Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dark Fiction.
This workshop would be held in a rural retreat center in southeast Wisconsin not far from Milwaukee. It would be held, most likely, in August and could possibly start in 2020. Cost would be roughly $225 a day, which includes private room, all meals, and all workshop fees.
I have received encouragement from writers who say they would be interested in attending.
My questions are these:
- What topics would you like to see covered in such a workshop? (Some ideas: Basic Speculative Fiction Writing, World Building Blueprints, Magic vs. Technology, Creating Real Characters in a Made-Up Place. You get the idea.)
- How many days are needed to offer an effective workshop (3, 4, 5, 6)?
- Would you be interested in attending such a workshop or do you have the credentials to help teach in such a workshop?
An inquiring mind wants to know. Contact Dave Rank, davejrank@ameritech.net.
To conclude this month, here is a special announcement filled with potential for chapter members:
If you are a published author, an event planned for the Lakeview Community Library in Random Lake will give you the opportunity to inform potential readers of your work. Library Director Jackie Rammer is planning an event for the fall of 2019. The date has not been set, but it will probably be a Saturday.
Traditionally, authors would submit their work to publishers. On acceptance, the work would be printed and distributed in a magazine or book. Developments in personal computing and the Internet in recent decades have opened the doors to self-publishing.
Writers who are not yet published will get some tips and ideas, helping them determine whether the traditional publishing model is best, or if self-publishing is an attractive option. Those attending will also hear about marketing and selling books.
Authors interested in sharing their experiences are encouraged to contact Rammer at (920)994-4825 or jrammer@monarchlibraries.org. You can also contact Rodney Schroeter at rschroeter@silentreels.com.