It’s Black Friday and while you’re hunting for deals (particularly at Amazon), treat yourself by dropping a copy of Behind the Shadows into your cart!
Black Friday, 1992. I was there, and my good buddy Brad Owings will attest to this, having been there in the comic book retail trenches with me. The Death of Superman, aka “Doomsday,” had rocked the world. Superman had met his bitter end (mmm, yeah, okay) and comic shops were getting bulldozed by an investment-minded public to get in on the hype. We were crushed by readers and non-readers alike, who pre-purchased the entire best-selling “Doomsday” arc to the point we were inundated and exhausted from the whole affair.
Superman # 75 was the hottest thing in the land, especially the polybagged edition with the silly mourning armband inside. When demand had been so great a second printing of the pivotal “death” issue came, we had a line from Alternate Worlds all the way down to the end of the shopping center. Many had arrived hours ahead of time. Complete insanity for what was then a worthless second printing.
I recreate this moment and rain Hell all over it in “Death of the S,” one of the ten stories you can chew on in Behind the Shadows, available immediately at Amazon, Lulu and Kindle. Other ordering hubs to follow.
When I was still in the music industry, I was part of a tradition that went about six or seven years at Thanksgiving. It was a small group of fellow writers and a few musicians whom we’d covered in the mags. We would all email each other a blurb or two about what we were thankful for. It was corny, sometimes hilarious and raunchy, but you know who you are and I invite any of you to resurrect a fun exercise in solidarity.
I know some put Thanksgiving under the woke firing lines. Some cringe and dread at forced time with people they don’t care to see. Some lament their losses of family, by death or division. What I do like about Thanksgiving is the reminder to find introspection within yourself and to be grateful and find value in what or whom you have in your lives.
Thus, I would say I am utterly grateful to have married the love of my life and for finding the right person who is a warrior and savvy and knows the meaning of TEAM in a partnership. I’m grateful to my son beginning to emerge into a man and for making better choices for his future. I’m grateful to having a new branch of family to replace those I lost, including my stepdaughter and stepson who inspire me by their stick-to-it-iv-ness. My longtime family, I love you, always will.
I’m grateful for all of my friends, those who have been with me forever and all the newcomers in my life, especially this year. My friend base, especially in my writer’s circle, has grown exponentially and I value each and every one of you for welcoming me into your lives and for supporting me, however that entails.
I’m grateful my writing is abundantly pouring, and while I still have ways to go, I’ve climbed quite a way up the mountain. The peak is still hazy, but I can see it, huzzah! My next project is more than a quarter written and I will hope to deliver a knockout for all of you who have believed in me.
We should all be grateful when we have the means to sustain ourselves, no matter the level of difficultness, and I have that. I remember the long, tough years and I dig for the grace to appreciate where I’m at now and with whom.
Turkey meals, football, parades, Wizard of Oz, all part and parcel to what some may consider an ordered holiday fabrication. Embrace your fortunes, not your detriments and enjoy Thanksgiving with a sense of grace and gratitude.
Thinking about all ya crazy fools from the music racket and a life that seems more distant than it really is. I’ll always cherish you with everyone else I’m thankful for.
Today is the book birthday for Behind the Shadows! Much love to those of you who ordered copies from me yesterday. Mega thank you to the one and only New York Times bestselling author, Richard Chizmar (Chasing the Boogeyman, Becoming the Boogeyman, Memorials, The Girl on the Porch and the “Gwendy” trilogy), who dropped these kind words last night: “Had a blast with BEHIND THE SHADOWS! Scary, smart and entertaining!”
Richard’s son, Billy Chizmar (pen name of W.H. Chizmar and readily following in his dad’s footsteps as a damned fine author himself), graciously says about Behind the Shadows: “Evocative and enchanting, Ray Van Horn, Jr.’s Behind the Shadows transforms contemporary America into something nostalgic and terrifying.”
If that’s not incredible enough, another of my favorite horror writers on the scene, Snarl, Jedi Summer and The Etiquette of Booby Traps author John Boden says: “You wanna know what’s Behind the Shadows? Ray Van Horn, Jr. is more than happy to show you. Fractured families and frothing creatures. Endless nights and pulsing darkness. It’s a nostalgic ride back to the horrors of your youth. Logic isn’t always logical, and the horrors don’t always end when the lights come on. But it’s a damn good time!”
You can’t ask for a better launch day than this, my friends.
Grab your paperback or digital copy of “Behind the Shadows,” from Raw Earth Ink at Amazon and Kindle.
This weekend, Friday, November 22nd through Sunday, November 24th, I am honored to be a part of the 2024 Philcon at the Doubletree by Hilton in Cherry Hill, NJ. I will be on panels (moderating two of them) focusing on DC Comics films vs. t.v. shows, the films of horror austere, Jordan Peele, the 70th anniversary of Creature From the Black Lagoon and the 10th anniversary of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s radical comic series, Bitch Planet. I’ll also be reading excerpts from my new horror anthology, Behind the Shadows and you can find me signing books at some point.
Raw Earth Ink has advanced the release date of my ten story horror anthology, Behind the Shadows, from late December to November 26th. Check out this INCREDIBLE review of BTS from New York Times best-selling author (and one of the funniest dudes I’ve ever met), Dayton Ward:
“Ray Van Horn’s obvious love for the movies, music, comics, and – yes – the horror fiction of the 1980s bleeds through every page of Behind the Shadows. It’s the sort of thing my mother would’ve grounded me for reading back then, the same way she did after learning I’d been sneaking into R-rated splatter flicks at the local theater or discovering those odd issues of Creepy or Heavy Metal magazines in my room (we won’t talk about those other magazines). You know…the good stuff. Ray’s got the good stuff here, folks.”
Behind the Shadows will be available soon at Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com and Lulu, digitally at Kindle, Nook and Kobo.
Sorry I have been incognito from the Blog community, folks. I’ve been extra busy on the road and such, but here are five things on my mind to share with y’all!
One: Tomorrow I will be at Union Craft Brewing in Baltimore, MD this Saturday for their 2024 Books and Brews author signing event. Like beer? They got ya! My Union favorites are Steady Eddie IPA, Double Duckpin (Double IPA, so take ‘er easy), Black Wing Schwarzbier and Snow Pants oatmeal stout. Dig into their brewery-only small batch darks. They had a killer Imperial Stout in the past. Come see me and other Maryland-based authors like Jean Burgess, Millie Mack, Sharon J. Burton, Stephania Thompson, Mary K. Tilghman, Alan Porter, Cassandra Mayo, Charmyra Fleming, Mona Shroff and many others.
I’ll be there from 2:30 to 6:00 this Saturday, November 16th at Union Brewery, 1700 Union Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21211.
Two: Last Saturday, I did my final Spartan event, and doing it in style at legendary Fenway Park, Boston. As a baseball fan, I simply had to. Worth the blood and 7.5 hour drive to make it happen. Spartan Stadion is brutal at times, but it takes you to places inside a ballpark, including the visitors’ locker room, dugout and the warning track in the outfield.
It was a frigging blast, even shanking five obstacles and taking the penalties, telling myself by race end I will never do another burpee in my life if I have any control over it, lol. I had a personal best run time, stuck the racer-hated spear throw and ran that ballpark with total glee. At the end, feeling relieved and somewhat melancholy I knew I am getting long in the tooth for some, not all of Spartan.
What I am grateful to Spartan for, as the elite extreme sports competition event it is would be the discipline it taught me. Dedication, focus, body strength, what to eat, what to cut out, having a set goal and state of mind. I performed to the best of my abilities, I kicked a lot of ass for my age while recognizing some of it is a young person’s game.
Thank you, Spartan. I always finished in the middle percentile of every event, save for DEKA. I walked away sore, busted up but damn proud every single time. It’s been a rush. AROO!!!
Three: What a year for horror movies! While away in Boston and Foxborough, Massachusetts, I took in the superb Smile 2 at Patriot Place, in many ways surpassing the original film. That ending in 2, holy crap, such brilliance! Other horror movies that wowed me this year at Oddity, Terrifier 3, In a Violent Nature, A Quiet Place: Day One, Apt 7A and Alien: Romulus, to reel off a few. Nothing floored me harder than Late Night With the Devil. Yeah, it was a 2023 release, but still, it got hyped this year and with good reason. Instant modern masterpiece! I was seriously in awe of the craftsmanship in the film as I grew up in the era of polyester, sideburns and post-mod day glo recreated to sheer authenticity in this gruesome movie. T.V. really did look like this film back in the day.
Four: As Behind the Shadows prepares to be released by year’s end, I’m gearing up for signings and my appearance as a panelist next week at Philcon. Look at what my incredible wife did for me to kick up my promotion game. Behind the Shadows is coming for you very soon from Raw Earth Ink!
Five: Tyson-Paul tonight. Is this a potential shit show or was it already, long before the controversial weigh-in slap? Reminds me old-time wrasslin’ pre-match hype. Outcome? Rocky Balboa 2006 redux, where a 58-year-old legend has enough in the tank to go the distance or will this be a bloodbath in which Jake Paul has now declared it to be “personal?” Order your pizzas two hours in advance tonight.
Roads Lesser Traveled 