Little Graveyard up for pre-order

I’ve been talking about it for a while, and now you can put your money where my mouth has been. No, not there! You can finally pre-order Little Graveyard on the Prairie from Bad Moon Books. Don’t believe me? Here’s a link.

Here’s a brand new synopsis I wrote for the book this evening:

Harley Shaw is a lonely man. His wife left him years ago, taking their daughter with her. His farm was ruined in 1980s oil speculation and money was running low. Then he hit upon an idea he felt sure would rejuvenate his farm and reunite his family – he began selling burial plots to people who wanted their final resting place to be all natural, and in a peaceful country setting.

The problem is, Harley wasn’t leaving the bodies beneath the stone markers. He’d found another use for them, and the spirits that once inhabited the bodies were not pleased.

Haunted by the ghosts living on his farm and tormented by the intermittent dementia of Alzheimer’s disease, Harley Shaw is a man who knows his grasp on reality is becoming tenuous. But he has more to learn. Memory and the ghosts will teach him that …

Dead ain’t gone, and gone ain’t dead.

Did I mention that you can order the book now? Should I remind you of the blurbs again? No? Just one.

“A touching tale of pain and madness. Wedel’s voice is one of the most intelligent and moving I’ve read lately, and I’m now looking forward to many more such works by him.” -Kim Paffenroth, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Gospel of the Living Dead, Dying to Live, and Orpheus and the Pearl

Don’t argue with the professor. Just stimulate the economy and pay the $50 for this book. Yeah, it’s 50 bucks. It’s my first limited edition. My first hardcover. There’ll only be 56 of these books made available, not counting the even-more-expensive lettered edition. You get the novelette, my story “Nocturnal Caress,” the story “Reunion” that will eventually be made into a movie, and introduction by Steve Vernon, and the artwork by Paul J. Groendes.

What are you waiting for? Buy it now!

Little Graveyard cover

I got the final for draft of the front cover of Little Graveyard on the Prairie this evening. This is it. What do you think? The book will be released soon by Bad Moon Books.

Here are some blurbs:

Little Graveyard on the Prairie begins with a kind of homespun and cuddly feel–a father playing with his young daughter on a farm. But something isn’t quite right out there in the Oklahoma boondocks at night. A nerve begins to twitch near the reader’s left eye. The creepy feeling spreads, becomes more unsettling as one suspects something bad is going on. The slowly revealed reality of what is actually happening is truly chilling, but at the same time heart rending. The conclusion is inevitable of course, but totally unexpected. Good writing. Compelling story. Well worth reading. Highly recommended. -Gene O’Neill, author of The Burden of Indigo and White Tribe

Steve Wedel’s Prairie is home to all manner of ghosts; it is a heartfelt tale that will haunt you long after the final grave has been dug. -Greg Lamberson, Author of Johnny Gruesome and Personal Demons

Steven Wedel’s Little Graveyard on the Prairie is a poignant tale of love, death, and loss, and the tragedy of the hollow shell that’s left behind. This is horror that goes beyond tugging at the heart strings – Wedel’s novella ties heart strings in knots. -Angeline Hawkes, Bram Stoker Award nominated author of The Commandments

A touching tale of pain and madness. Wedel’s voice is one of the most intelligent and moving I’ve read lately, and I’m now looking forward to many more such works by him. -Kim Paffenroth, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Gospel of the Living Dead, Dying to Live, and Orpheus and the Pearl

Little Graveyard on the Prairie is emotionally engaging, haunting, and bittersweet — a creepy piece of work with plenty of atmosphere and genuinely eerie moments. Once you’ve begun reading, you won’t want to put it down until the very last page has been turned. I don’t think it’s exaggeration at all to say that Little Graveyard on the Prairie has the makings of a classic. Wedel is an excellent writer who once again proves he’s got the chops to stand with the best of them. -Christopher Fulbright, author of Of Wolf and Man, co-author of Blood Coven

Mr. Wedel “digs up” a boneyard of frights and unexpected pleasures. The author of The Werewolf Saga is in top-form. A welcomed addition to any fireside collection of weird tales. – Karen Koehler, author of Slayer

I really think this may be the best thing I’ve written. I hope you guys like it once it’s released on the general public.

Ulrik review and an interview

“…Ulrik may be the finest werewolf novel I’ve read.”

That’s what Greg Lamberson had to say about the most recent installment of The Werewolf Saga in a review posted today at Fear Zone. It’s a very, very kind review. I do have to take the … credit … for the ending of Ulrik. It wasn’t a publisher decision. I thought it felt rushed, too, but wasn’t sure how to fix it.

It’s a good day to talk about me online, I guess. The fabulous Carrie Jones posted an interview she did with me for the Thru the Tollbooth blog she contributes to. We talk about how to build suspense. She’s doing a series of posts on suspense this week, and she interviews more coherent people than me most of the time.

I got the galleys and completed cover for Little Graveyard on the Prairie yesterday. Roy wanted the cover tweaked just a little. When that happens and he send me the update I’ll post it.

Deborah LeBlanc

Deborah LeBlanc visited Western Heights High School in OKC today. If you’re a teacher reading this — especially and English teacher — you absolutely MUST look into having her visit your school to talk about The LeBlanc Challenge. The program itself is fantastic, offering kids cash and prizes for reading books. What’s more, Deb provides free copies of the books for every kid in the school.

On Tuesday evening Deb joined the WHHS Book Club for dinner at Cimarron Steak House. The kids were thrilled with that opportunity, as it gave a small number of students the chance to talk one-on-one with a real author. And Deb was great, going around the table to each student to greet them and learn their names.

This morning she came to my first period Creative Writing class to talk about writing. She very graciously listened to some of my most talkative students and gave them some valuable tips to improve their writing. Fortunately, she preached the same message I’ve been trying to get across to them. Maybe now they’ll see that I didn’t make up the “show, don’t tell” maxim.

For reasons unknown, our school didn’t do an all-school assembly, but divided attendance into two sessions. Deb, again, was very gracious in doing the two assemblies. Her story is incredibly moving, and she really knows how to appeal to kids, particularly the inner city kids. As she said, she came to offer them a challenge and take away their excuses to fail. She certainly did that. I won’t give it away, but hers is a sad, bizarre, and finally triumphant story that really moved a lot of kids.

Deb provided 990 copies of her novels Morbid Curiosity and Water Witch so that every student could have one. Water Witch isn’t available for sale yet, and that thrilled the kids. Deb even sat outside the library for our two lunch periods and signed hundreds of books.

The English department faculty loved the assembly; the department chair said it was the best one we’ve had. The attending vice principal liked it, and the assistant superintendent sent a glowing thank-you to the English department for having Deb in. Most important, though, was that the kids loved it and were going after those books after the assemblies. Yes, kids who ordinarily would rather be horse whipped than open a book were walking through the halls with an open book in their hands. They were asking for time to read in class. That alone has to earn Deb a place in Heaven.

Did I mention that the school didn’t pay for ANY of this. Deb and her sponsors paid for everything. I don’t know who her sponsors are, but their support is certainly appreciated, too.

I’ll say it again: If you’re a teacher, you really have to see about getting her to come to your school. She will get kids to read.

August Contest Closed

My August 2008 contest is closed, since it’s after midnight on Sept. 1 now. And the winner is … nobody!

Not a single person submitted answers to the quiz. For the past week I kinda figured somebody would take a shot, get one question right and win the prize. But … nope. Was it too hard? Or did nobody care? I dunno.

Maybe I’ll throw it back up there some other time and we’ll try it again.