exlibrislarsen

This Saturday night, midway between Chicago and Milwaukee, the dead wauk, er … walk, at ZombieWauk 2018–Waukegan’s 8th annual celebration of zombie and horror arts. It’s a night of themed art exhibits, live music, and horror stories told in the heart of Ray Bradbury’s home town.

Nothing says Halloween like a freshly signed horror novel or short story collection!

I’ll be reading from THE BLACKENING OF FLESH between 6:30 and 7:30 at The Hub (13 N. Genesee Street), the future home of the Ray Bradbury Experience Museum. I’ll be signing copies of my book, too. Find out what happens when a high school loner discovers his house is haunted by five Prohibition-era gangsters in my suburban horror novel, and then stick around for Rondo Hatton Award™-winning writer Justin Hamelin, who will be reading from his creepy collection, THICKER THAN BLOOD, and his latest short story, “Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire”.

If that doesn’t put you in a downright literary mood, check out the “writers in the window”. They’ll be authoring stories live in the front window of The Hub, with Justin Matulonis in the spotlight from 6:30 to 7:30 and Orty Ortwein taking the stage between 7:30 and 8:30. But that’s not all…

Test your hand-eye coordination at the zombie shooting gallery hosted by Hauntingly Fun Entertainment, experience the bizarre acts of the circus, burlesque, and sideshow world with Dead Man’s Carnival at 6:00, or watch George Romero and John Russo’s seminal zombie classic, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD performed live on stage at 7:30 at Three Brothers Upstage (221 N. Genesee Street), and if you love animals … head to Three Brothers Downstage (115 N. Genesee Street) for the WAGS “Animal Walk of The Dead” from 5:00 to 9:00.

Enjoy singer and poet Faith Misters outside at Family Piano Co., and inside their Riverside Room … it’s award-winning blues and R&B from 7:30 to 9:30 with Times Two: Larry Wimmer & LeMel Lewis. Or get in the groove with live music by Audio Beings, Ghost Machines, and The Dread starting at 5:00 in the heart of downtown Waukegan.

And don’t forget the Metal On The Rocks VIII festival within a festival from 4:00 to 10:00 in the CLC courtyard on Genesee Street with No Conviction, Siren of Sorrow, Portals, Purge, Shooter’s Tour, Vicious Attack, and Heavy Lies the Crown. It’s free, and you’ll fit in if you come as you are but if you want to look even more the part, special-effects artist Ermelinda Renee Pauig can help you look like one of the undead.

Hell, I haven’t even mentioned visual arts yet, where you can take in spooky art shows at Green Town haunts such as Dandelion Gallery, Dinosaur Studio Tattoo, Tufo Art, Karcher 405 Gallery, The Mic, Undercroft Gallery, Kapheim Studios, ArtPark-Waukegan, NorthPointe Resources, Backroom Gallery, and the Burgundy Room.

Come hungry (and thirsty), and Waukegan won’t dissapoint with Green Town Tavern, 17 North La Casa De Samuel, The Taproom, Sean’s Eatery, China Garden, Taqueria Guerrero, Lucky Food, Oooh Wee Sweet Tea, and Kafe 29 available for mid-Wauk refreshments. And keep an eye out for specialty food trucks like Killer Zombie Dogz and Grub-N-Go for quick, delicious, and fun stuff to eat.

While some specific events come at an additional charge, admission to ZombieWauk is free, and there’s even complimentary trolley service, so take the kids, take your friends, or just take yourself out for a legendary time this Saturday in Waukegan, where Ray Bradbury’s imagination first took off, and yours can, too!

Christian A. Larsen is the author of the novels LOSING TOUCH and THE BLACKENING OF FLESH, now available from Post Mortem Press.

Near the end of the double-aughts, when other genre magazines were shutting down at an alarming rate, Jeani Rector had an idea. Why not start a magazine of her own? One with a simple name that was easy to find. One that was free to read and featured a cross-section of writing talent seldom seen elsewhere. The result was THE HORROR ZINE, which published it’s first issue in July 2009.

In December of that same year, THE HORROR ZINE released it’s first anthology: AND NOW THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS, featuring stories by Ramsey Campbell, Simon Clark, Joe R. Lansdale. More anthologies followed, with stories from reputable and emerging authors, such as TWICE THE TERROR, WHAT FEARS BECOME, A FEAST OF FRIGHTS, SHADOW MASTERS, and SHRIEKS AND SHIVERS. In 2016, Rector released THE BEST OF THE HORROR ZINE: THE EARLY YEARS showcasing the best of the first three books.

Now, there’s a new anthology on the way from THE HORROR ZINE, building on the tradition Rector started nine years ago, and this time, there’s a theme: ghost stories. The book will feature a forward by Horror Writers Association President Lisa Morton, and stories from a bevy of talented authors (and also me):

• “Sal’s Requiem” by Sebastian Crow
• “Old Ghosts” by Amber Fallon
• “The Expectant One” by Kevin Holton
• “Mr. Potato Head” by Elizabeth Massie
• “The Storm” by E. A. Black
• “Warm” by Nicholas Pascall
• “Filling Station” by Joe R. Lansdale
• “Houdini’s Last Seance” by J. T. Siems
• “Something to Nibble On” by Christian A. Larsen
• “Hotel Eternal” by Jeff Parsons
• “The Doll” by Kathryn Staublin
• “Goodnight, Eric” by Bruce Memblatt
• “The Basement” by Dan Allen
• “Jake’s Nightmare” by C.A. Verstraete
• “All That She Leaves Behind” by S. J. Budd
• “Scents” by Claire Fitzpatrick
• “The Closet” by Shawn P. Madison
• “The White Road” by Tim Waggoner
• “In the Subway” by Justin Boote
• “Mr. Dangles” by Dean H. Wild
• “Green Shadows” by Neal Privett
• “The Automatic Writing Planchette” by William R. Eakin
• “The Vacation” by Rachel Coles
• “Unmarked Graves” by Kristen Houghton

You probably recognize some names on that list. And some are probably new to you. But if you like a good ghost story and love a good scare, you won’t want to miss THE HORROR ZINE’S BOOK OF GHOST STORIES, coming soon to a bookshelf near you!

Christian A. Larsen is the author of the novels LOSING TOUCH and THE BLACKENING OF FLESH, now available from Post Mortem Press.

Five Prohibition-era gangsters murdered in the basement of a northwest suburban home get together for one more score in THE BLACKENING OF FLESH. And this Saturday, those same ghosts rise again at the Barrington Area Library.

The past won’t stay buried.

Come to the Barrington Author Fair this Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to find out more about the book, which was inspired by an actual mass murder. While you’re there, meet these outstanding fiction authors who will also be on hand signing their books:

• Richard Bell, author of LIFE SEEMED GOOD, BUT….
• Bani Bhattacharyya, author of GARLAND OF DILEMMAS
• L.C. Blackwell, author of FOR SALE: MURDER
• Adela Crandell Durkee, author of A SHIP OF PEARL
• Lance Erlick, author of ANDROID CHRONICLES: REBORN
• Martha A. Klemenz, author of THE GATEHOUSE
• Dawn Napier, author of STAR PACK
• Pamela Olander, author of THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FRANK MEISNER
• Marsha Portnoy, author of AFTER TONO’S PARTY
• Georgann Prochaska, author of THE CASE OF THE EX WHO PLOTTED REVENGE
• Laura Quinn, author of PUNK CHARMING
• Anne Grall Reichel, author of THE UNITED FOREST OF KIND
• Cynthia Ripley-Miller, author of THE QUEST FOR THE CROWN OF THORNS
• Edward Schwartz, author of TAPESTRY
• Jean-Michel Smith, author of AUTONOMY
• Sheryl Steines, author of BLACK MARKET
• Christine Todd, author of TORNADO DAYS
• Jeffrey Westhoff, author of THE BOY WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
• Patricia Shinn Wojtowicz and Christine Petersen Street, authors of RELATIVE DISENCHANTMENT

If biographies and memoirs or anything non-fiction are more your speed, then check out these authors:

• Alicia Marcos Birong, author of CHANGING THE CHATTER
• T.D. Arkenberg, author of TWO TOWERS
• Catherine Chifflot, author of ART & CHAKRAS
• Dennis Depcik, author of WOULDN’T IT BE SOMETHING
• Cara Cipolla Kretz, author of DELICIOUS DETOX AND POWER FOODS
• William Marsh, author of MEMORY AS LIFE, LIFE AS MEMORY
• W. Nikola-Lisa, author of DOG EARED: A YEAR’S ROMP THROUGH THE SELF PUBLISHING WORLD
• Jim Proebstle, author of UNINTENDED IMPACT
• Janet Riehecky, author of SHOW ME DINOSAURS
• Susan Marie Schulhof, author of FUN4BABIES
• Ellen Shubart, author of WHAT’S WITH CHICAGO
• Diane Sleger, author of THE GREAT WAR
• Eleanor Anne Sweet, author of THE NEW RULES FOR JOB SEARCH
• Victoria Vestuto, author of A BFF’S GUIDE TO DIVORCE
• Donn Ziebell, author of GORKY: RUSSIA: FIRST MAN IN

And that’s just a sampling of the event’s confirmed names and titles. Last year’s fair hosted almost 50 authors, so you never know who or what you’ll find this Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Barrington Area Library at 505 N. Northwest Highway.

Got a fresh shipment of books just in time for the Wakanda Wauconda Author Fair tomorrow from noon to 3. That’s the last BLACK PANTHER reference I’m going to make, unless I think of something really funny, which is a long shot at best. But if you love to read, and why would you be here if you didn’t–you’re going to find something great to read at the event.

The past won’t stay buried.

Come find me in the Lincoln Room at the Wauconda Area Library, rubbing elbows with other area literati. I’ll be personalizing copies of my ghosts and gangsters novel, THE BLACKENING OF FLESH in which a lonely high school graduate’s house is inhabited by the ghosts of five Prohibition-era gangsters–who are planning more than a heist … or a haunting.

Plus, I just got a fresh shipment of LOSING TOUCH, just in time for tomorrow’s author fair. Featuring a foreword by NY Times-bestselling author Piers Anthony, my debut novel is the story of Morgan Dunsmore, an out of work, down on his luck husband and dad who finds out he can walk through walls, but the answers to his problems aren’t as neat as he’d hoped.

If that’s not your bag, man, there will be plenty of other others across all sorts of genres, including: John C. Bader, Larry Bernstein, Marcy Browning, Donna Codell, Dennis Depcik, Toni Louise Diol, Benjamin Dueholm, Larry Eichman, Mary Furlong, Dr. Deborah Karas, Peggy Krause, Dawn Napier, Florence Osmund, Gabriela Pattison, Ed Piotrowski, Hillary Scaletta, Daniel Shulman, Diane Sleger, Mark Spreyer, and Don Ziebell, plus the  Lake County Historical Alliance will be there. Will you?

It all happens tomorrow at the Wakanda Wauconda Area Library (sorry, I did it again, and it wasn’t any funnier) at 801 North Main Street in the general vicinity of Wauconda. It runs noon to 3:00 p.m. in the Lincoln Room.

Ice cold books. Get ’em while they’re hot!

Christian A. Larsen is the author of the novels LOSING TOUCH and THE BLACKENING OF FLESH, now available from Post Mortem Press.

Jack Ketchum, the award-winning author of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, RED, and THE CROSSINGS has succumbed to cancer at the age of 71. During his career, Ketchum nabbed four Bram Stoker Awards®, a World Horror Convention Grand Master Award, and was dubbed “the scariest guy in America” by Stephen King, who acknowledged Ketchum’s passing this afternoon:

Ketchum was born William Dallas Mayr on November 10, 1946 in Livingston, New Jersey, and worked as an actor, teacher, literary agent, lumber salesman, and soda jerk before his first novel, OFF SEASON, hit bookshelves in 1980.

He also wrote under the pen name “Jerzy Livingston” as an homage to his birthplace and author Jerzy Kosinski. A number of his works were also adapted to screen, including THE LOST...

And THE WOMAN…

The news of the author’s passing broke at midday today with a Tweet from Ketchum’s webmaster, Kevin Kovelant:

In 2012, Ketchum’s “Amid the Walking Wounded” appeared in the charity anthology CHIRAL MAD, edited by Michael Bailey. While I never met Ketchum in person, this was where our professional paths crossed for the first time when “Mirror Moments” also made the cut. Ketchum was kind enough to tweet a line from my story:

The next year, I asked Ketchum for feedback on a manuscript I was working on, and he sent me the following email: “Had a chance to read LOSING TOUCH this week. Enjoyed it. It’s an intriguing premise, well executed.”

Everyone needs a little encouragement, and when I saw that email, I thought I might actually have a little talent of my own. So Dallas, wherever you are tonight, I hope you’re resting well. And thank you. I am forever in your debt.

Christian A. Larsen is the author of the novels LOSING TOUCH and THE BLACKENING OF FLESH, now available from Post Mortem Press.

We’re two-thirds of the way through another STAR WARS trilogy (with a “Han Solo” solo movie due at year’s end), but if you’re wondering what happened between the ewok bender and Father Merrin’s showdown with “Matt the Radar Technician”, pick up a copy of Chuck Wendig’s STAR WARS: AFTERMATH and have him sign it at the Elgin Literary Festival, January 26th and 27th at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin.

Wendig also contributed AFTERMATH: LIFE DEBT and AFTERMATH: EMPIRE’S END to the STAR WARS canon, and co-wrote the novelization of THE FORCE AWAKENS, which is pretty cool, and then there’s his non-STAR WARS output: BLACKBIRDS, MOCKINGBIRD, UNDER THE EMPYREAN SKY, BLUE BLAZES, DOUBLE DEAD, BAIT DOG, DINOCALYPSE, BEYOND DINOCALYPSE, and GODS & MONSTERS: UNCLEAN SPIRITS. Gamers out there might also recognize him as the developer of the HUNTER: THE VIGIL game line.

Wendig blogs at terribleminds.com about his novels, screenwriting, and game design projects, but he’s kind of all over the map. And the language? It sometimes veers into filthy. You cans see what I mean if you check out his panel presentation on Saturday from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. Just don’t let the Q&A session devolve into a flame war. He’s liable to unleash a flume of profanity that could blister the paint right off the walls.

My virgin ears!

And did I mention it’s free? Saves you some scratch for the book sale from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Pick up fresh new reads in genre literature, literary literature, biography, memoirs, poetry, children’s, and humor. I’ll be signing copies of my ghosts and gangsters novel, THE BLACKENING OF FLESH and the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated sci-fi/horror anthology, QUALIA NOUS, featuring my story, “Cataldo’s Copy” and “The Jaunt” by Stephen King.

If that sounds like your bag, check out these exhibiting authors: Donald J. Bingle (FORCED CONVERSION), Justin Hamelin (THICKER THAN BLOOD), Mandy Madrox (NEPHILIM: HOUSE OF MEPHISTO), Georgeann Prochaska (THE CASE OF THE EX WHO PLOTTED REVENGE), Nan Sampson (RESTLESS NATIVES), Gregory M. Thompson (NIGHTCRY), and Bradley James Weber (FEAR AND LOATHING OF THE UNDEAD ’78). And don’t forget Chuck Wendig. He wrote DAMN FINE STORY, BLACKBIRDS, and THE RAPTOR AND THE WREN.

Justin Hamelin and little ole’ me. Literally. He’s that much taller than me.

Click here for an in-depth look at this year’s Elgin Literary Festival itinerary, set for January 26th and 27th at the Hemmers Cultural Center at 45 Symphony Way in downtown Elgin, thanks to the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, the Blue Box Cafe, SideStreet Studio Arts, and Marquee Media and special thanks to Jamey Bouwmeester, Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, Amanda Harris, Richard Johnson, Karly Kirkpatrick, Roberto Martinez, Tanner Melvin, Jeffrey Pierce, Erin Rehberg, Butch Wilhelmi.

Christian A. Larsen is the author of the novels LOSING TOUCH and THE BLACKENING OF FLESH, now available from Post Mortem Press.