At long last, Cane River: A Ghost Story is out! Cane River is my latest novel, a ghost story set in a town that was based on my home town of Lake Jackson, Texas. It is now available from Amazon by clicking HERE, or by visiting my web site, AmericanHorrorWriter.net.
So far, advanced reviews for it have been phenomenal, and I'm just so thankful to everyone who's read it so far. Here's a little of what folks are saying:
A classy supernatural tale that will tangle you up and hold you tight until the last word on the final page is read. Guts of the Plot: Cain River was a quiet town with little crime, but a secret from the past will change all of that when Bill comes back to town. For years, crazy Gene Wheeler has been haunted by a little girl relentlessly - she will not leave him alone until her body is found. Gene has a skeleton in his closet as well. When his son Bill begins to see the girl, Gene knows the time to tell him the truth has come. Sandy Duprie is a woman in search of real love, who also sees the girl. Sandy and Bill's paths cross and they become acquainted, not knowing they are sharing the same supernatural experience. To complicate matters further, Gene is diagnosed with cancer and he knows the wrath of the little girl will soon fall full force upon his son. Sandy's son and a group of his friends vanish. Who kidnapped the kids and why? Bill, Gene, and Sandy must solve the mystery , or else her son and his friends could be lost forever. Final Thought: Scott kept me interested from page one. The characters are richly drawn Some of the dialogue seemed a little off to me, but all in all the writing was very good. The last 25-30 pages will have your heart smacking furiously against your ribs. Definitely worth checking out.
Brian Yount Wicked Karnival Magazine
The story was creepy and unsettling and left me completely cold. Seriously, ice water in my veins kind of cold. It gave me the shivers, which isn't easy to do! I'm a big fan of ghost stories, and this is a stellar example. Rooted in American soil, but definitely containing an element of the more disturbing Asian ghost tales. The image of Madison will, without a doubt, continue to haunt anyone who reads it long after they've put down the book. She was both sympathetic and horrifying at the same time. Beautiful, haunting and ultimately terrifying - it's a ghost story no horror fan will want to miss.
Scott Johnson gets better and better. The story of mysterious and dangerous vines, a small girl gone missing fifty years ago, and a man who thinks he's going insane, all intertwined in the disappearance of five young boys, Cane River is fast-paced and foreboding. The language is evocative and crisp—you can feel the humidity and the darkness. The characters are nicely honed, and the plot moves though the darkness with well-timed twists and speed. With Cane River, Scott Johnson has developed a clear, steady voice for writing that entices you in to his world, where it's all very scary indeed. Read this one with a weed-whacker next to the bed.
Beverley Braud Professor of English, Texas State University-San Marcos
Like the sinister vines in Gene's garden, Cane River will wrap its terrifying tendrils around your throat and choke the fear into you until the very last page is turned. Scott A. Johnson knows how to tell a Texas gothic ghost story better than anyone — his eerie flourishes never fail to delight and chill me. Do yourself a frightful favor and read Cane River… it's a truly irresistible deadtime story!
Cane River, it's a sleepy little town...that will keep you awake at night. Haunting and heart-warming, Cane River walks the line between horror and romance as Johnson weaves a ghost story as twisting as the creeping vines within its pages. Cane River, it's a nice place to visit...except for the restless child spirit reaching out through the years to have her satisfaction. Like the creeping vines within its pages, Johnson weaves a tale about a man and a woman discovering each other while uncovering secrets long since buried.
Steve Ruthenbeck, author of Dogs of War
A good old fashioned ghost story, solid characters, and a heartwarming romance…Cane River delivers on all of that. Characters you can care about and dark things that prowl the swamp…what more can you ask for?
My Left Shoulder (The Saga Continues)
Current mood: frustrated
Roughly a month ago, I was cleaning out my wife's car. When I leaned to push myself out of the passenger's side, my left shoulder popped. The next morning, I couldn't raise my arm. The manager of the bakery at which I also work told me to go home, as it didn't happen there and I was now a liability.
I went to the doctor, who injected it with corozone, and told me that I would only be allowed to do "light duty" stuff for a month, which the bakery manager interperated as "he can't be here." So I've been off work for roughly a month. Of the course of that month, the shoulder hasn't really gotten better. I went back to the doctor today, and he tells me that he now thinks its a torn rotator cuff (which I said when I went in the first time), and scheduled me for an MRI. Now, he's given me clearance to go back to work, but he's also talking about surgery on my shoulder.
The biggest problem is that I haven't gotten paid in about a month. I'm getting to the point where I'm almost ready to say "what else could happen," but I know better because whenever I ask that question, something shows up and shows me what else could happen. All that to say...Life is hard right now. I'm between semesters, which sucks, and I'm injured.
Anyone who cares to, keep positive thoughts headed this way. We need 'em.
Yesterday morning, I got up to discover my website, AmericanHorrorWriter, was no longer mine. The domain name, which I have lovingly emblazoned on everything I own, had been sold to someone else. How could this happen? Well, truth be told, the fault was mine. I thought the registration company had my current alternate e-mail address, and they only had the inactive one from my days at Texas State University. That allowed this sneaky company to come in, buy the domain, and then offer to sell it back to me for $500. Domains in the real world only cost $10.95 a year. You do the math.
So, after a few hours of panic-stricken rage and self loathing, I decided that particular company can go to hell. I've re-registered my domain as AmericanHorrorWriter.NET instead. I spent five years building AHW as a brand, and I'm not about to back off it because of some underhandedness. Oh, sure, it's perfectly legal...It's just a really crappy way to go about business.
All that to say, all my stuff has changed to .net. My e-mail, the CSPR site, everything. If you've happened to link to my site, and thank you very much if you did, please update your links. If you have my e-mail address, please update it as well. Also, if you were on the AHW mailing list, it went bye-bye. Send me a message if you'd like to be re-added and I'll do so.
Meanwhile, I'll be furiously updating stuff like the AHW shop and all of my contacts for my bills...*groan* My aplologies to anyone whom this has inconvenienced. In the end, it's my fault for not being more careful...And that pisses me off more than anything.
Incidentally, one good thought comes to mind: First, for them to have hijacked my domain and then offered to sell it back at $500, I must be doing something right.
The following is an excerpt from a new novel I'm working on, but it got me thinking. Therefore, here is a very brief paragraph from my new novel.
People say they don't believe in magic or ghosts. They call people like me and Maggie delusional or say that we're living in a fantasy world. Magic isn't real, they say, and there's no such thing as ghosts. They go along their happy daily routines safe and secure in the knowledge that unexplainable things or things that go bump in the night aren't real. These same people are the ones who avoid shops like Maggie's, that watch me as if I might do something spooky, and are the first ones to scream and run if so much as an odd noise is heard in the old dark and creepy house. They say they don't believe, but it's a lie. The trouble is they do believe, but they don't take the time to try to understand. In the light of day, it's easy to say there's no such things as ghosts, or possession, or haunted houses. In the dead of night, tucked in bed, hiding beneath the blankets while the sounds of footsteps cross the floor and the sounds of breathing come from under the bed, everyone believes.
Many folks have heard me rant and rave for years about teachers being underpaid and underappreciated. Even before I was involved in education, I said that good teachers are few and far between, and those should be rewarded. All those people who don’t vote to raise teachers’ saleries...Where would they be without the teachers who gave them the knowledge to attain their high-paying jobs? Nowhere, that’s where. So when I came across this little gem by a teacher named Taylor Mali, I had to give him a hand. Mr. Mali, I salute you, and every teacher in the world should listen to your words and sing your praises. That’s my opinion. Watch the video below.
Slam poetry at its finest!
Currently
listening
:
The Black Parade
By
My Chemical Romance
Release date: 31 October, 2006
I've got four classes offered over the summer (two each summer session) at Waynesburg College. One is how to write reviews of films, books, and other stuff. Two are five-week courses in which the students make their own short movies, start to finish.
The last course is about Ghost Stories. Check the trailer below.
Sign up for my course! Let me get paid over the summer!
Rondo Awards - PLEASE VOTE!!!
Current mood: confident
The Rondo Hattan Classic Horror Awards are awarded each year for those who stand out in horror's pantheon. This year, I'm calling on all my friends and family members to help out with some deserving folks (not me, by the way). Please head over to http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/14516 and have a look at the official ballot. E-mail your choices as directed in the post, but please consider the following for your votes!
In the category of "Best Horror Website," write in Dread Central
In the category of "Best Convention of 2007", It's Alive ZombieFest (Pittsburgh)
In the category of "Best Fan Event of 2007," the world-record setting Monroeville Mall Zombie Walk
In the category of "Best Horror Host (Active) of 2007," Professor Emcee Square (Mark Menold) of The It's Alive Show in Pittsburgh
In the category of "Best CD," write in DEATHMOBILE
For the other 21 categories, vote your conscience, but the folks in these five categories really deserve the awards for their contributions to the genre. I'll be sending in my vote later today!
AmericanHorrorWriter Newsletter
Current mood: adventurous
Happy new year to all of you from all of us (meaning me and my family) at AmericanHorrorwriter.com! 2007 was a tough one on many levels, and I'm looking to make 2008 a great year. We're already off to a good start, which brings us to:
PUBLISHING NEWS Already good things coming for 2008, which include:
My short story "One Night in New Orleans" appearing in Horror Authors United magazine in January
My short story "The Dinner Party" should appear this year in the anthology Until Someone Loses an Eye
A video podcast of me reading my short story "Coffin Liquor" on FearZone.com
Another article of mine appearing in the upcoming Weird Hauntings II book
The long awaited appearance of my novel, Cane River: A Ghost Story in September. Keep your fingers crossed...
In addition, I'm still writing and hope to have more coming out this year...Maybe I'll hear from that elusive large publishing house wanting to put out a novel of mine and make me obnoxiously rich. We'll see.
PERSONAL NEWS I detest the thought of "New Year's Resolutions," as the term has come to mean empty promises that we all break. To that end, I'm not making any resolutions. Instead, I'm setting a few goals for myself:
Lose 40 pounds (at least)
Let my hair grow out to a manageable length
Write two new novels
Get back to business with "Cold Spots..." I've neglected it for too long
Get more published
Return to Texas at least once to visit family and friends
Have more fun
Be a better person
Keep in mind, they're goals, not empty promises.
INTERESTING FACTS The following are a few things I discovered over the course of last year:
Beer does not, in fact, produce the "beer belly." According to nutritionists, this phenomenon is strictly the fault of the greasy food eaten by folks while consuming beer, not the beer itself.
The hops in beer helps prevent prostate cancer. I swear, I'm not making this up.
The way to a person's heart is through cookies.
Teaching at a college level is a remarkably rewarding job. I know, some people don't share this view, but I'm teaching what I enjoy!
Snow, though pretty to look at, is freaking cold.
No matter where you go, you can read.
Young people just aren't reading as much now a-days.
My PT Cruiser is da bomb-diggity, yo!
If you want to have a good time, attend Zombie Fest. In fact, anything involving zombies and The It's Alive show is a blast.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a huge pro-wrestling fan from way back. I often joke that I've been watching so long that I know what Ric Flair's natural hair color is. This past Monday, Slick Ric made his way to the ring on Monday Night Raw to make an announcement, one that we all assumed was his retirement. Amidst chants of his name, the "Dirtiest Player in the Game" got teary-eyed and announced he would NEVER retire, and he would stay in the business until he was dead in the ring, bringing screams and cheers from the crowd.
I've been a fan of Ric's for many years, even when he worked heel and folks like me were supposed to hate him. Now that I've grown up and know a bit more about the business, I have more respect for him than almost any other wrestler. He is truly a legend in the business, and has outlasted all the Hogans, the Foleys, the Gagnes, and has inspired scores of a new generation of performers including Triple H and HBK. There is no other performer in the business today who has been there, done that more than The Nature Boy. Which is why I say this in all humility and respect:
Ric, please be careful.
I don't want to see him gone. Hell, I wish the man could last forever in the ring, but lets face facts, he's 58 years old this year. He's in the ring with 25-year old 'roid monkeys who really don't know a wristlock from a wristwatch, and who actually have more accidents than anyone from Ric's prime era did. Look at the recent number of injuries in pro wrestling and you'll see that many of these people don't know how to take care of their opponents. I can count the number of performers that I'd feel safe in the ring with on one hand, and I'm not even in the business.
Vince McMahon, to his credit, is giving Flair one more push before he retires, reportedly at the next WrestleMania, after which Flair will remain on the WWE payroll, but out of the rings. Fine and dandy as well, and I applaud McMahon for that as well. However, there are a few things that bug me. While I do respect a few of McMahon's policies (such as trying any dangerous stunt before his performers do and offering to pay for rehab), he's had quite a few misfires as of late, and I don't want to see the 16-time (according to WWE) champ become another casualty to them. What I'm hoping for, as is every other pro wrestling fan, is for McMahon to give Flair the sendoff he deserves.
No viagra jokes, no pole matches, no lame storylines, just Ric Flair being the man, doing what he does best, and giving the crowd what they paid for. And please, for the love of pete, please don't destroy the legend. I know he said in his speech that he'd die in the ring, but don't you even think about it McMahon. There's been too many deaths in the wrestling business recently, and while you've not been known for your good taste in humor, this is something that wrestling fans definitely don't want to see. You want a good storyline? Try this:
The other RAW wrestlers think he's over the hill and don't take him seriously until he's summarily whipped their collective asses. He mows through them all, winning by some means or another (most of them should be clean tap-outs to the figure four) until, because he's beaten every heel in the locker room, you, Vince, start putting him up against his proteges. Ric has to win in order to keep his job, so he goes back to being the Dirtiest Player in the Game. To finally get rid of him, the Blow-Off if you will, comes at WrestleMania when you put him up against his friend and greatest admirer, Triple H. Flair decides that if he can't win clean, he doesn't deserve to win and looses clean to Triple H, effectively passing the torch and allowing Nature Boy to go out with dignity, class, and to the screaming adoration of the crowd.
I hope to heaven Vince reads this, because such a sendoff is what Flair deserves. He remains, even at his age, one of the greatest performers in the history of the business. His legacy is something that should be allowed to shine, and the fans deserve to wish him off in the best way possible.
To be the man, you have to beat the man. Whoooooooooooooooooo!
Fifteen years ago today, Tabby agreed to go out with me. We haven't been apart since. That same night, though I didn't say it out loud to her, or anyone else for that matter, I hoped she'd be the one. It occurs to me that fifteen years is some kind of record in today's day and age. What with divorce being a casual thing more people opting out of such "tied down" relationships, Tabby and I are still together after fifteen years. What does that say, eh?
To my wife, I love you more than anything in the world. Without you, there would be no me. To my friends, may you all experience what I have in my life in someone like Tabby. Believe me, I wouldn't be the man I am today without her.
Short and sweet blog tonight, but one that needed to be written. Goodnight Tabby. I love you.
frustrated
pissed off
adventurous
aggravated
hopeful
anxious
tired