exlibrislarsen

Chuck Briggs has written a five-star review of THE BEST OF THE HORROR SOCIETY 2013, which features my short story, “It Has Teeth”:

Now available via Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

Some clarification for the uninitiated: This is the best of the Horror Society – not necessarily the Years Best Horror (although I think the anthology would be in the running for such a title.) The Years Best Horror was a legendary series of short story collections issued by DAW and edited, if memory serves, by the great Karl Edward Wagner. “The Horror Society” is a new organization that has reached a remarkable level of distinction in a short period of time. As Scott Gorsiak, the president of the organization claims in his forward, it is “a think tank” for those who contribute to the field of Horror, not limited to one particular discipline, such as writers, but including musicians, directors, make up artists, etc., where artists can network for connections and exchange ideas. This isn’t the Horror Writer’s Association of America, the H.P. Lovecraft Appreciation Society, the Stephen King Wannabe Club, Clive Barker Uber Alles or any other darned group.

There are some very good writers here. Along with the legenary William F. Nolan, the only living writer I know of who can be included along with the likes of Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury. Included too are rising stars Richard Thomas, Weldon Burge, Joe McKinney, Aaron Warwick Dries, Robert S. Wilson, Scott Gorsiak (grin) and editor Carson Buckingham. Twenty-Five Tales of short and not-so-short, high quality and mostly unfamiliar shivers. Authors are included I’ve never heard of, but I chalk that up to personal ignorance on my part. One Hell of a lot of good horror writers have shambled their way into print and eprint over the last few years. It’s enough to make you throw your typewriter against the wall and try writing Harlequin Romances.

This is an excellent collection and terrific way to find out what’s happening on the current, horror scene. Unlike a lot of anthologies, the stories aren’t limited to a particular theme, although they aren’t necessarily original to this collection. You may have encountered a couple of these before. (The William F. Nolan is from 1985 – culled, in fact and appropriately enough, from “The World’s Best Horror” Collection of 1985.)…

Read the rest of the review here, and if you haven’t already read THE BEST OF THE HORROR SOCIETY 2013, here’s what you’re missing:

• Foreword by Scott M. Goriscak
• Introduction by Carson Buckingham
• “Ceremony” by William F. Nolan
• “Tendrils Never Lie” by Kevin A. Ranson
• “The Mask” by Lisamarie Lamb
• “Lemminaid” by Carson Buckingham
• “The Central Coast” by Jason V. Brock
• “White Hell, Wisconsin” by Weldon Burge
• “Victimized” by Richard Thomas
• “Normal is Relative” by Dan Dillard
• “The Procedure” by Doug Lamoreux
• “The Little Church of the Safe Crossing” by Joe McKinney
• “Madeleine” by Julianne Snow
• “It Has Teeth” by Christian A. Larsen
• “Masquerade” by Dave Jeffery
• “Black Bird” by Rose Blackthorn
• “Adjoining Rooms” by Scott M. Goriscak
• “The Inspiration & Horror of George & Hugh” by Nicholas Grabowsky
• “The Clown” by Henry Snider
• “Moving Day” by Mark Onspaugh
• “Ellen” by Lee Pletzers
• “Daddy” by Aaron Warwick Dries
• “Soft Like Her” by Charles Colyott
• “Venus” by L.L. Soares
• “The Luminous Veil” by Ian Rogers
• “Beer and Worms” by T.E. Grau
• “Black Mary” by Mercedes M. Yardley
• “The Boy in the Elevator” by Robert S. Wilson
• “Weird” by Dean M. Drinkel
• “Hotties” by Mort Castle

Christian A. Larsen is the author of LOSING TOUCH, featuring a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Piers Anthony, now available in paperback and ebook formats from Post Mortem Press.

Paula Limbaugh has written a review of my novel, LOSING TOUCH, for Matt Molgaard’s Horror Novel Reviews, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars:

LOSING TOUCH, now available at Amazon.com.

Remember how it felt as a kid with your imagination running wild? You could fly, you could walk through walls; you could do anything you wanted! I used to think I could enter a toy store and walk away with all kinds of goodies, never really giving thought to how the whole invisibility thing work.

In LOSING TOUCH by Christian A. Larsen, we meet Morgan Dunsmore a man at odds with himself. His life is going nowhere, he’s lost his job, his wife is recovering from back surgery and bankruptcy is looming in his future.

One morning while sitting on the toilet a strange thing occurs.  He has somehow fallen off, but not quite, the toilet.  It’s as though he fell through!  Little by little more strange things happen.  When eating at times his food falls through him contained only by his boxers.  Drinks run through his body as if he were a sieve.  Slowly the realization hits him; his body is fading in and out of solidity.  Like his life he is losing touch…

Read the rest of the review here. And if you haven’t already, buy the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon.com.

Featuring a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Piers Anthony, LOSING TOUCH joins the works of Tim Waggoner, Joe Hill, and Harlan Ellison on the Post Mortem Press front list.

ZIPPERED FLESH 2, now available at Amazon.com.

Amazon reader Patrick D. has posted a review of ZIPPERED FLESH 2, which features my story, “The Little Things”. In Patrick’s review, he says the anthology “takes body enhancements to the next level. There’s a tale for everyone here. For a true horror fan, a must read.”

Steroids from Hell. Horrendous piercings. Bizarre brain modifications. Obscene amputations. Facial reconstruction. Self-mutilation. Implants. ZIPPERED FLESH 2 offers twenty-two chilling tales by some of the best horror and suspense writers today, determined to keep you fearful all night (and skittish during the day).

Edited by Weldon Burge, ZIPPERED FLESH 2 features the following contributions:

• “The Modern Adonis” by Bryan Hall
• “Taut” by Shaun Meeks
• “The Hunger Artist” by Lisa Mannetti
• “Skin Deep” by Carson Buckingham
• “The Sun-Snake” by Christine Morgan
• “Knowledge” by Kate Monroe
• “Prosthetics” by Daniel I. Russell
• “After Darque” by M.L. Roos
• “The Affair of the Jade Dragon” by Rick Hudson
• “The Future of Flesh” by J.M. Reinbold
• “We’re All Mad Here” by E.A. Black
• “Seeds” by L.L. Soares
• “Perfection” by Doug Blakeslee
• “Underneath” by Kealan Patrick Burke
• “The Perfect Size” by A.P. Sessler
• “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” by David Benton & W.D. Gagliani
• “BabyDaddy” by Jonathan Templar
• “The Little Things” by Christian A. Larsen
• “Clockwork” by Shaun Jeffrey
• “Luscious” by Jezzy Wolfe
• “Rapture” by Charles Colyott
• “Primal Tongue” by Michael Bailey

ZIPPERED FLESH 2 is a product of Smart Rhino, a horror and suspense fiction publishing house based in Delaware.

Goodreads contributor Dave Granger has posted a review of MISERIA’S CHORALE, which features my short story, “Becoming the Beast”:

MISERIA’S CHORALE, now available at Amazon.com.

This book is a beast! It is big and packed with stories, 48 in all! That is huge. And when you read what has been put in here, it’s amazing that so many of them are not just good, but great. I will say that there were a few bumps in the road, some stories that just didn’t strike my fancy, but all in all it is well worth the money.

Highlights in this were “The Cherry Tree” by James S. Dorr, “Becoming the Beast” by Christian A. Larsen, “Give Me Convenience” by Shaun Meeks, “Evacuation” by Jay Wilburn, “From Suicide Station” by Adam Millard, “The Face of Death” by Paul Kane, “The Gatehouse” by Anna Taborska, “In Green Remembered” by Christopher Nadeau, and “Sowing the Seeds” by Bear Weiter. There are so many other great ones in here, trust me, but these were the highlights. Highly recommended.

Pick up your copy of MISERIA’S CHORALE in paperback or Kindle at Amazon and pick a few stories that you might want to recommend:

• “In Green Remembered” by Christopher Nadeau
• “Worm Garden” by Patrick Lacey
• “Becoming the Beast” by Christian A. Larsen
• “Sowing The Seeds” by Bear Weiter
• “Hiding” by Pete Aldin
• “Happy Thoughts” by Nick Kimbro
• “When Karen Met Her Mountain” by Todd Keisling
• “One” by Cameron Suey
• “Asrai” by Carmen Tudor
• “Ripped From Heaven” by Patrick Tumblety
• “The Eye That Ate The Sky” by Alexandre Mandarino
• “The Catacomb Enigma” by Jon Michael Kelley
• “From Suicide Station” by Adam Millard
• “The Cherry Tree” by James S. Dorr
• “Because The Night Is Dark And Full Of Monsters” by Sergio Palumbo
• “The Story” by Aurelio Rico Lopez III
• “Choosing my Confession” by Meghan Arcuri
• “Visit” by Richard Godwin
• “Bedfordshire” by Peter Crowther
• “The Face of Death” by Paul Kane
• “The Wind” by Ryan Neil Falcone
• “Tomb of the Initiate” by Aaron J. French
• “Thrall” by Richard Farren Barber
• “Evacuation” by Jay Wilburn
• “The Gatehouse” by Anna Taborska
• “Exit To Dove’s Tail” by Ken Goldman
• “Motel Impression” by Michael Thomas-Knight
• “Kicks” by Carl Barker
• “Cracks” by Jon Ingold
• “Give Me Convenience” by Shaun Meeks
• “Red Harvest” by K. Trap Jones
• “King of a Distant Star” by Tim Jeffreys
• “Trauma Children” by Lucy Taylor
• “Cicada” by Caren Gussoff
• “A Feeble Gleam of Stars” by R.W.W. Greene
• “Letters” by Christina Murphy
• “The Watching Room” by Glen Damien Campbell
• “Destruction: A Plague Story” by Bruce Memblatt
• “What Lurks Below” by Peter Baltensperger
• “The Shadow On The Hill” by Peter Mark May
• “That Sinking Feeling” by Lance Mannion
• “Tug” by Douglas J. Ogurek
• “The Banquet” by Fred Skolnik
• “Formaldehyde Fairies” by Alana I. Capria
• “Lily In The Ether” by Christopher Hivner
• “The Girl Beneath” by Dy Loveday
• “Extremity” by B.T. Joy
• “Instantaneous” by Christopher David Rosales

Edited by David Nell, MISERIA’S CHORALE is a product of Forgotten Tomb Press, publishers of 100 DOORS TO MADNESS.

Amazon reader Charlotte Vale has posted a review of FOR WHEN THE VEIL DROPS, featuring my short story, “724”.

FOR WHEN THE VEIL DROPS, now available at Amazon.com.

When my package containing my copy of FOR WHEN THE VEIL DROPS arrived, I ran into my home, tore open the box, and sat down to finish reading “724” by Christian A. Larsen. The 4-page Amazon teaser had drawn me into the story already. My anticipation grew as I waited the week for my book and was determined not to wait a minute more to find out what was going on with Owen and Linnie. I was not disappointed. The story makes a good prequel to the author’s novel LOSING TOUCH. Well, it would have made a good prequel if I hadn’t already read LOSING TOUCH. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and order your copy today.

From “724” I went on to read “The Persistence of Frondu,” a story that took an odd happening and turned it into a difficult to express but extremely relatable feeling. Deciding that I should stand up and take my coat off at the very least before reading more I put the book down.

Later, in a cozy and quiet moment, I reread “724” and was struck by the expressive nature of certain phrases and the feelings that they generated. I moved on to “A Coat that Fell” and “Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened Here” wondering how the authors were going to pack an entire story into so few pages. Upon completing Michael Wehunt’s story, I actually threw the book down as if something would jump from its pages and get me. When I recovered myself, I read A. A. Garrison’s story, which didn’t help my nerves. It was disturbing for a whole new set of reasons.

Every evening I looked forward to sitting down with a new set of stories by a new set of authors and have enjoyed the experience. I also very much enjoyed the Post-scripts and Author Bios section allowing me to get to know these creative minds a little better.