The Writing Life

Two Killer Reviews of “Behind the Shadows,” by Ray Van Horn, Jr. at Horror Tree and Games, Brrraaains and a Headbanging Life!

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What a week prior for Behind the Shadows! Booking two upcoming signings and then this wonderful 4.5 out of 5 star review from Amie Destefano from the elite genre hub, Horror Tree.

Amie says “There are truly grody monsters here, which you recognize. Some made, some birthed and a number who have made mistakes. Van Horn, Jr.’s prose is active and effortless. The story details are ultra-specific, allowing each character to carry his/her own authority. There’s no choice but to believe them. Completely wrapped up in the scenes, I heard, saw, felt, tasted and touched the environment created.”

Read the full review at horrortree.com

Then comes this incredible 9/10 review of Behind the Shadows from Brendan Fisher at Games, Brrraaains & Headbanging Life!

Brendan glows, “An anthology that delivers 10 clever stories with plenty of attitude, plenty of scares and characters we can believe and buy in to. Reel them in (the readers), make them care and then break their hearts – that makes for great reading. Behind the Shadows is a wonderful read that will scare a lot, emotionally touch you at times and always make you think. It just wouldn’t be possible to be a fan of horror and not find something in Behind the Shadows for you.”

Thank you, my man!

Read the full review at www.gbhbl.com

Behind the Shadows, from Raw Earth Ink. Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com, Lulu, Kindle, Kobo and Nook!

–Ray Van Horn, Jr.

2024, What a Hell of a Year

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2024, what a hell of a year. This is one of the toughest yet most satisfying years of my life. The defeats came with the wins, but there were so many more of the latter. I had my first horror project, Behind the Shadows, become a reality with a strong opening sales campaign and I will be pushing it like a madman in the upcoming year. I’m already committed to two signing events for the book and I look forward to reading the forthcoming reviews from the sites and magazines who offered me press.

I had a handful of short stories accepted for publication, but nothing hit me with a tidal wave of gratitude more than being selected as a runner-up finalist for Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine’s “Mysterious Photograph” contest. To have my name appear in such a prestigious journal gives me tremendous verve and hope for the future. I can’t forget having my first assignment with Rue Morgue magazine, giving me a taste of my old music and film journalism days, which I miss, but have my targets set even higher. Likewise, I have enjoyed writing musician press releases for my new friend in L.A. for her boutique PR firm and I value the extra work.

Cons were a pivotal part of my year, opening ties and blossoming friendships at this year’s Shore Leave with some of the sci-fi fiction industry’s major leaguers and others who made an impact upon my life and writing this year. I won’t ever forget sitting in a court of kings at the Shore Leave hotel bar shooting the breeze about writing, movies and life. All of which lead to my invitation to Philcon and my first time speaking on panels, much less moderating two of them. What a rush. For those I moderated, I was surrounded by rock stars who made those panels wildly entertaining. I came out of Philcon with new friends I already know are bond.

I had a handful of book signing events this year, a couple offering me stellar sales of my prior two books, Coming of Rage and Revolution Calling. More friends made, friends who made special trips to come see me and get their copies of my books signed. Truly special. Almost as special as getting to sign with my wife, a dream I’ve always had and have enjoyed our teamwork as a unified front to get our work out there together. We both released new books this year. How wonderfully insane is that? DREAM TEAM.

I competed in my final two Spartan events, finishing at Fenway Park in a memorable road trip where I found both my spirit and my limitations at age 54. Six events including DEKA, I’m done trying to prove to myself. I’m still sore from the events and all the training, but I did it and I’m content with achievement.

I won’t get into any negative things that occurred this year. They need no energy given. I’m grateful for the ability to carve out a living from my generous bosses, no matter how exhausting and frustrating the work is. In this economy, you dig harder than ever if you want to do more than simply get by. It helps having a smart, savvy and toughened spouse who gets the deal and works in full partnership on all that’s become our new lives. This is the life I’ve wanted. This is the love I’ve wanted. I’m f-ing grateful.

Horror movies were simply faboo this year, Oddity, Late Night With the Devil, Alien: Romulus, Terrifier 3 and Smile 2 ranking amongst my favorites.

The key theme of 2024 is friendships. As I mentioned in my livestream interview given by Metal Asylum’s Jack Mangan about a month ago, it’s been all about friendships, new and old. You can’t have enough friends, nor can you have enough family. Corralling those who care about you and love you are what you should aspire to more than anything in life. This year, I made so many new friends in writing especially. Networking and simply being in the right place at the right time with the right intros. It’s how I did it in the music industry to rise to the level I enjoyed. Right now, all the new friends who have already helped me, talked to me, been representative of that word, “friend,” that’s what made this year incredible.

For all my other friends, 2025 needs to be about getting together and hanging out, as much as it means I need to propel myself as an author. I look forward to the laughs and love from you all. For those who gave me testimonials for Behind the Shadows, for those who bought it and my other books. For those who’ve impacted my life in such beautiful measures, I love you. Thanks for reading this far and as his lordship of metal, Ronnie James Dio, used to shout, “WE ROCK!”

–Ray Van Horn, Jr.

Got Amazon for Christmas? We’ve Got Some Reads for Ya!

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I’m willing to bet many of you got Amazon gift cards for the holidays. I just used mine to restock a few household things plus some frivolous buys like a couple books, old Godzilla movie scores, Blade Runner 2049 paraphernalia, a Blu Ray of The Seven Samurai and a Halloween III t-shirt.

While you’re browsing for goodies with your gift cards, may I direct you to my new horror anthology, Behind the Shadows and my wife TJ Perkins’ latest offering, Fantasies Are Murder? You won’t be sorry you did, especially with gift money! As always, we thank you all for your support and reviews are helpful to the cause.

–Ray Van Horn, Jr.

“Behind the Shadows” Reviewed at The Bedlam Files

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What a terrific thing to wake up to the other day, this INCREDIBLE review of Behind the Shadows by The Bedlam Files’ Adam Groves, who says:

“The stories of Ray Van Horn, Jr. are drafted with enormous energy and ingenuity, but what really gives them their edge is the author’s Tarantinoesque grasp of late Twentieth Century pop culture minutiae. The skilled prose and pointed conceptions, which often revolve around actual media events from years past, make for a collection whose horrific content registers as strongly as its name drops.”

Read the full review here:

https://thebedlamfiles.com/fiction/behind-the-shadows/

The Journey

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This stack represents books I have written or appeared in to this point. Never mind my other published short stories and binders of tear sheets from 300 music and film interviews conducted and more than a 1,000 media reviews.

Miniscule to many of my peers. The more pros I have made friends with this year, the smaller I feel. My life’s mission and utmost desire is to triple this at a minimum in my remaining years. May that be a long, fruitful road. The biggest difficulty in my recent years is reinventing myself into a fiction author, specifically a horror author, after 16 years as a music and film journalist, an NHL analyst, beat reporter, local photographer and serialized superhero scribe. It’s been a humbling ride rising up from a nobody to a music industry described A-lister to a nobody again.

Writing was never a hobby for me. Just ask my friends, family and high school and college classmates. It was a side hustle when times were hard and we needed all the coin we could get. Eventually, that took the love out of what I was chasing after. There are days I lament not being in the music racket, but this year, I have been doing band press releases on the down low for an LA publicist who I am proud to see her shop boom. I just got my first freelancing pay from Rue Morgue magazine. It all starts to bring back that tickle in my heart, that flame of passion.

I want to thank those who have supported and bought Behind the Shadows in the two short weeks it’s been out. My best sales launch to-date! I will soon have another anthology to add to this stack when my story “Good Day for a Seven Nation Army” appears in the Maryland-themed Ole Blue Claw: Tales From the Crustier Side of Maryland.

I give this my all and I do my absolute best not to shirk in defeat reading such wonderful books by notable authors, some of whom I am now lucky to call friends. I have a woman who kicks my ass whenever I say I suck or question why I want it all so badly. I do want it, though, and the mission is always the mission until it’s not. To the divine which is always at elbow’s reach, may the latter come only with my final breath.