Happy February! There's are reasons Hollywood can't seem to nail down a Lovecraft film. This video does a better job than most in explaining why.
Wednesday, February 01, 2023
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Facebook-Writing-Running Updates Galore
Let's be clear: Facebook still sucks. I believe my Ad Blocker is the reason they're giving me so much grief of late. (This would be the Ad Blocker I've been using for years.) I can no longer administer my JP Mac Author Page without being told I need a new email. Once I change the email, I'm informed I need a new email. They task me, these beetling tech people, skulking behind their algorithms.
Look to the right of this page. You will see the title for Death Honk. My collection of nine short stories will go live on December 26. What an excellent chance to use the Christmas gift cards received from relatives too busy to inquire what you actually enjoy. Amazon goes live on that date. But thanks to Draft2Digital, there will be a preorder sale starting next week for purchases on on Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo and other sites. In the next few days I'll provide compelling information on how to interact with these mysterious, weird, shocking, humorous tales.
Now let your eyes stray down from the book cover. You will see a listing for Pages. There will be two listings. One will read: On the Road with JP Mac. After many years, I've created a separate page for my running updates. Visit, note the incidents, comment if you will. Change is in the air and in my pockets, jiggling merrily.
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Dark Anthology Finally Coming Soon
MAC'S DONE IT!
Six years ago I was convinced that I'd publish a dark anthology. A dark urban anthology. In fact, I was writing like a dervish, churning out copy at a rapid rate. But then Old Man Cancer came a'knocking and my writing—along with my health—cratered.
Well, my health is much improved and the copy is finally churned; nine stories at the starting gate with an eye to a December release. (Ebook only with the softcover arriving—God willing—in spring of 2021.) The stories do not match my 2014 line-up. Not all the tales occur in an urban setting. Nonetheless, in many respects, readers will benefit, thanks to a half dozen more years writing practice.
Right now I'm hustling to finish the front and back matter as well as seeing the 31,000-plus word manuscript receives a copy edit.
At the same time, I'm setting up preorders on Amazon and Smashwords.
At the same time, I hustle for reviews.
Here's a draft of the blurb:
Monday, July 06, 2020
Book Review: It Calls From The Forest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In the woods there are things spooky and unknowable, not to mention hazardous to your health and sanity. In this small press collection of horror fiction set in the forest there are some offerings consisting of little more than a set-up, others more backstory than story, and a goodly number of satisfying tales.
As with all themed anthologies, certain story elements tend to crop up. Druids, clearings, old legends and kids testing boundaries appear several times. Perhaps 24 stories on the same theme is a bit much. Like binge-watching a Netflix series, you can quickly find yourself getting ahead of the author.
Among the better woodsy yarns were:
"Knotwork Hill" by C.W. Blackwell
"Lazarus' Respite" by Michael Subjack
"Forest Man" by Holley Cornetto
"Rouse Them Not" by Tim Mendees
"13" by Craig Crawford
"Getting Away From It All" by Greg Hunter
"Hollow Woods" by Brian Duncan.
My favorite pair were Jason Holden's "Fairies in the Forest," in which a father and son learn that crazy old grandpa knew his cryptids. Also "Automatic Contamination" by M.A. Smith in which what's old is new and inclined to eat and run. I especially enjoyed some of the imagery, as in passages such as the "hard ratchet of the crows" and "the spiraling trill of summer robins."
Overall, fine reading for the horror aficionado, lovers of short fiction, and fans of timberland terror.
View all my reviews
Featured Post
John P. McCann Sizzle Page
'Twas suggested I post a few episodes of my work in a pleasant spot. I've chosen here. Sadly, not everything I've written has y...
-
Twice in the last eight years I've run the Santa Clarita 5k on Independence Day. Back in 2007 it was sizzling hot. Three years late...
-
More memories from the boxes . Here's my life at Warner Bros. that year. Cleaned up my office after the Northridge earthquake rearranged...