So, what it means for you, exalted reader, is that The Werewolf Saga will go out of print immediately. I’m pretty sad about this, really. I don’t like change. It also means more work for me as I try to determine my next move with the series. Will another small press pick it up? Will I resort to self publishing? I can’t say yet, but the books will reappear somewhere, in some format, and you will get to read Nadia’s Children.

Some of you may be asking, “You have an agent now. Why doesn’t he resell the series to a big publisher?” Well, a lot of that has to do with the fact so many volumes have already been published. The market, perhaps, has been diluted, which reduces the interest of a major publisher willing to spend enough money on the series to make it worthwhile to use an agent. There’s also the “artistic” aspect of it all. The Werewolf Saga is my baby, my Lord of the Rings, and a major publisher may insist on changes I’m not willing to make.

The upside for you is that I’ll be thinking of some way(s) to get you interested in the new versions and reward you for your very long wait for the new book. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. What would you like to see? New forewords? Introductions? A free apocryphal volume offered electronically? New short stories about your favorite characters? Let me know.

The paperback version of Seven Days in Benevolence will also go out of print. The electronic version from Double Dragon eBooks is still available in multiple formats, though. Here’s a link to the Kindle, and one to the Nook, and another for Sony. Frankly, I think the e-book version is overpriced, but that’s outside of my control right now.

A young adult paranormal series just ripe for the horror-obsessed, aficionados of the creepy, angst-loving teenager in all of us, AFTER OBSESSION sets the stage for what could easily become an enslaving series.

A series? My goodness, wouldn’t that be nice? Do ya’ll wanna know what happens next with Amiee and Alan? No?

Here’s another recent review, this time from Sizzling Reads. The reviewer in this case was especially kind toward me. I promise I don’t know her, but would be glad to buy her a beverage if we ever meet. Here’s a little snippet:

The paranormal aspects were surprisingly entertaining. More than once I found myself completely lost and submerged in the eerie world of After Obsession.

There ya go. If you haven’t read it yet, why not? Carrie and I both have dependents, both human, canine, and feline to feed and keep warm. You can’t hold on to that Christmas money forever.

If you come to this book expecting it to be anything like the Anthony Hopkins movie you’ll be very, very disappointed. There’s no red-eyed mule, no frogs, nobody strapped to a hospital bed, and no possessed mentor priest. Other than the basic premise of an American priest going to Rome to become an exorcist, there’s almost nothing else common between book and film. Hopefully Matt Baglio was able to laugh all the way to the bank with Hollywood’s money and didn’t get too upset at the film treatment of his material.

That said, this is a very informative book on exorcism and what a modern American priest learns about the rite. Baglio introduces us to Father Gary, the American priest appointed exorcist by his bishop and sent to Rome to learn to do his new duties. More than that, though, the author gives a lot of background information about the history of exorcism and mental illness, and interviews experienced Italian exorcists. The most relevant thing learned is that exorcism is not a one-shot session as portrayed in most movies, but an on-going treatment. Kind of like a spiritual chiropractor.

I gave the book three stars instead of four simply because it seemed to jump around erratically between Father Gary’s story and the other information. I wanted to know more about Fr. Gary. It’s a fine book and very informative for those interested in how the Catholic church really treats exorcism.

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Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,500 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman — By far the best read of this past year. It made me a fan of Gaiman, as you’ll see further down the list.
2. Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead — It’s an historical fantasy, a sweeping epic about self discovery, with Vikings, Greeks, Arabs, and Irishmen. Just an excellent book.
3. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry — I hesitate putting this one so high because I’m still so mad about the ending, but up until those last few pages I was totally engrossed.
4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman — Another brilliant, engaging modern fantasy about a boy raised in a graveyard by ghosts. One of those, “Why didn’t I think of that!” stories.
5. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman — This is the story of the sons of Anansi the spider. At least, the Anansi we met in American Gods. Not as great as the original, but very good.
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling — Yeah, I know, I know, it’s been out forever. And I regretted putting it off so long. It was really much better than I expected it to be.
7. The Dark Sacrament by David M. Kiley and Christina McKenna — A pretty down-to-earth, journalistic account of hauntings and possessions/exorcisms from modern Ireland.
8. Carry the Wind by Terry C. Johnston — A very detailed, richly described tale about a young man who goes off to make a life for himself trapping beavers in the 1830s. Made me a fan of Johnston’s, though I didn’t like the sequel to this one as much.
9. Crazy by William Peter Blatty — The newest book on this list, and I’m surprised to see Blatty come in so low, but in the end it was just, “Oh, that theme again.” Still, it was a nice story with some creepy moments and some emotional aches.
10. In the Shadow of the Cypress by Thomas Steinbeck — The great John Steinbeck’s son does a very admirable job with this tale about discovered Chinese artifacts in California.
11. First Blood by David Morrell — I love the movies and always meant to read this, then finally did. What do you know, John Rambo was much more complex than Stallone’s portrayal, and the ending is a lot different.
12. The Rite by Matt Baglio — Technically, I have about 50 pages left to finish this one, so I’m speculating. Nothing at all like the film, really. There’s a lot of good info here, but the delivery is pretty choppy and it’s hard to really feel connected to Fr. Gary because of that.
13. Borderlords by Terry C. Johnston — The sequel to Carry the Wind tended to really drag in the beginning, but picked up at the end. I’m sure I’ll pick up the third book pretty soon.
14. The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner — Not the East of Eden-type book I was hoping for. In fact, I didn’t like it when I read it, but the story kept coming back to mind long after I’d finished.
15. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers — This one was just kinda blah. It had potential, but didn’t seem to live up to it.
16. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult — This sucked. I hated it from beginning to end and wished I hadn’t wasted a grant buying copies for my AP Literature class. Picoult tries to play the reader’s emotions like a ham-fisted troll holding its first violin.
17. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley — My second read of this book wasn’t any better than the first. It can’t hold a candle to 1984. It’s basically a good idea with the barest threads of a story hung on it.

Alright, I was going to stop at 10, but since I apparently only read 17 books this year, I ranked them all. Only 17 books? That’s pathetic. Well, it doesn’t count skimming books I’ve read previously so I can lecture about them in class. Or the stacks and stacks of essays I read. Hopefully I’ll do better next year.

1. The Big Wheel. I remember it being darker red than the pink in this image, but whatever. For a short while, this machine was cooler than a two-wheeled bicycle and I rode it until the front plastic tire was worn slick and had holes in it. My sister and I both got one. My cousin had the one with the back brake that would let you do a cool fishtail thing, but even without that I had all kinds of fun on this mean machine.

2. John Madden was still coaching the Raiders and likely hadn’t even dreamed of putting his name to an electronic football game when these handheld games were all the rage in the late 1970s. This is my actual game, and it still works. You couldn’t throw a pass on this version, and it was incredibly easy to beat after playing a couple of games; the only challenge then was seeing how high you could run up the score before the time ran out.  My hand was a bit smaller when I first got the game.

3. Dungeon Dwellers: Caverns of Doom. There are really just no words to describe how I felt about this game. I loved it! I wasn’t much into Dungeons & Dragons, where there were no visual pieces, but this game, with it’s map of a dungeon and cave, with its pewter monsters and heroes and battle rules was just perfect for me. I remember spending many, many hours with my friend Ron on my bedroom floor playing this game while listening to Journey’s Escape and Styx’s Crystal Ball. We got the companion piece, Crypt of the Sorcerer, and bought a lot of extra figures. I still have the figures, but I think the boxes and maps are long gone. Too bad.

4. Long before the Big Wheel there was this Fire Chief pedal car. At our first house in Enid we had a covered patio between the back door and the detached garage and I would burn circles in that concrete in this car. I’ll never forget the day one of the pedal rods gave out and I coasted out of my circle to the back porch like an Indy driver who’d blown a motor heading for the pits. Sadly, the car was never repaired and one day a few years later I left it too close to the curb and the trash men picked it up. And yes, that is me in the car.

5. This leather jacket was a gift from my girlfriend circa 1983. Okay, okay, she became my wife. It’s important to keep in mind that she was only 16 years old and working part time when she bought this. I think she got it from the Sears and Roebuck catalogue. I do know that it cost her over $100 at the time and that I was floored she’d spent so much on me. I outgrew it a long time ago, sadly, but my oldest son wore it quite a bit a few years back. Maybe the youngest will wear it, too, when he gets a little older. At this point, instead of being an old jacket, it’s retro-chic, right?

I have to give an honorable mention to the many books my parents bought me for Christmas. It was a big hassle for them that I wanted books because Enid — a city of over 40,000 people at the time — had no bookstore. There was no Internet, either. Books had to be special ordered through the city’s office supply store. The stand-outs are Where the Red Fern Grows in hardcover, The Lord of the Rings three-volume paperback set, along with The Hobbit, and Old Yeller, which I recall Mom saying she had a lot of trouble getting.

Look for another giveaway coming soon.

Any of my published books are eligible for this. This includes Murdered by Human Wolves, Shara, Ulrik, Call to the Hunt, Seven Days in Benevolence, Little Graveyard on the Prairie, Darkscapes, and yes, After Obsession, co-written with the super talented Carrie Jones.

Ready?

Go!

I dove into Borderlords with high hopes immediately after finishing Carry the Wind. The first half of this book, though, seemed to drag forever as Titus Bass relived moments from the first book while making a trek to Vancouver to exorcise the ghost of Asa McCafferty. I’m still not sure I understand the point of all that. The second half of the book, though, really picks up steam and saved it from getting a two-star review from me. Although I still have to say there was way too much talking during that climactic knife fight. Shut up and start stabbing! Overall, it was an enjoyable book that finished on a high note that will bring me back for more of the series.

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Another option could be subscribers to this blog, but there aren’t many of you. Yeah, I know, you’d have better odds, huh? Perhaps I could post something here asking for comments, then randomly choose a commenter to win. Any suggestions?

If I was to do a giveaway, what would you want to win? A hardcover of After Obsession? A trade paperback of the British edition of the same? A copy of one of The Werewolf Saga books? A complete set of The Werewolf Saga books? Or maybe Darkscapes or Seven Days in Benevolence? One of the last remaining copies of Little Graveyard on the Prairie?