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Lucas Mangum – Dark Fiction Author
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FLESH AND FIRE, Up for Preorder on Amazon Kindle
DARK OF NIGHT – FLESH AND FIRE (Journalstone’s Double Down Series, Book VIII) is now available for preorder on Amazon Kindle.
DARK OF NIGHT
The dead rose. We fell.
The survivors are trapped in a world of monsters who prey on the helpless. Some of them are zombies…but they are not the only predators who feed on pain and suffering.
DARK OF NIGHT is a story of worlds in collision. Three heroes who have survived the apocalypse are in a deadly race to save a busload of children from ravenous zombies and ruthless human scavengers.
This brand new novella brings together three of New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry’s award-winning novel series.
Captain Joe Ledger (PATIENT ZERO and CODE ZERO), Officer Desdemona Fox (DEAD OF NIGHT and FALL OF NIGHT), and Rachael Elle (BITS & PIECES, a Rot & Ruin novel) are caught between an endless wave of the living dead and an army of corrupt men who want to enslave the last human survivors.
Jonathan Maberry teams with debut novelist Rachael Lavin to tell a sweeping story of adventure, horror, and heroism.
FLESH AND FIRE
In the midst of a midlife crisis, Todd is haunted by Chloe, the lover who died not long after their relationship ended. When Chloe escapes Hell in search of the peaceful rest that has eluded her, a demon named Samael is on her trail and she needs Todd’s help.
While on the run Todd and Chloe face demons real and personal, soul-threatening danger, and their long-buried feelings for each other.
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You can preorder the Kindle here.
Trade paperback should be available soon.
Cover Reveal – FLESH AND FIRE
Here we are friends, the front cover reveal of my debut, FLESH AND FIRE. The release date is April 22nd, and it comes to you as part of Journalstone’s Double Down series with DARK OF NIGHT, a new novella from Jonathan Maberry and Rachael Lavin.
Back cover copy for FLESH AND FIRE: In the midst of a midlife crisis, Todd is haunted by Chloe, the lover who died not long after their relationship ended. When Chloe escapes Hell in search of the peaceful rest that has eluded her, a demon named Samael is on her trail and she needs Todd’s help. While on the run Todd and Chloe face demons real and personal, soul-threatening danger, and their long-buried feelings for each other.
Jonathan and Rachel’s piece brings together Joe Ledger, Dez Fox (DEAD OF NIGHT), and Rachael Elle (BITS AND PIECES) into one adventure.
With the pub date getting closer, I’m getting more and more excited. The icing on the cake through all of this is this awesome blurb from one of my favorite working writers, Lee Thompson.
“FLESH AND FIRE is riveting and irresistible. Filled with horrors and delights, it asks the ultimate question: Can love conquer all?” – Lee Thompson (Author of WHEN WE JOIN JESUS IN HELL and AFTER THE FOG CLEARS)
The book should be up for preorder sometime this week so stay tuned.
Horror Movie Survival Kit
If the horror movies of the last ten years have taught us anything, it’s that adhering to archaic rules like ‘don’t have sex,’ ‘don’t do drugs,’ and others like them won’t protect you. Spoiler alert: in Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s excellent The Cabin in the Woods, the stoner is one of the only survivors (which don’t really matter, because the world ends minutes afterwards); in The Babadook, the mother and her son have to learn to live with the titular monster instead of try to defeat it; and in AMC’s The Walking Dead, no one is safe. The rules are of little consequence; instead, the best one can hope for, if stuck in a horror movie, is to be prepared for the worst.
Thankfully, the good folks at Man Crates are thinking ahead. Providing gift baskets for men (or whoever may enjoy opening their presents with a crowbar), they’re unique delivery method allows one to consolidate everything they’ll need to survive a horror movie in one place.
What would go in my crate? Read on to find out.
1. A 5-gallon can of gas. Let’s face it, I’m not Dean Winchester. Throwing down with a machete-wielding Jason Voorhees or a rabid werewolf is not in the cards. The fuel can do one of two things. Firstly, you can use it to fill up your car’s tank and drive off into the sunset with Leatherface waving his chainsaw in the middle of the road and lamenting your escape. Secondly, if all else fails, nothing ends a movie like a good explosion. Blow up the haunted house with the ghosts inside. Blow up that possessed car before it runs you off the road. Gasoline is your friend.
2. A spare set of keys. That great escape I told you about? Not gonna happen if you drop your keys while running to your getaway car. If you have a spare car key (ideally attached somewhere on the car), you won’t have to die in an embarrassing way like being choked out while sitting in the driver’s seat and squealing about how you can’t find the keys.
3. Running shoes! I recommend Asics. My pair has lasted me over three years and I’ve done plenty of running in them. They’re perfect for making a break for your vehicle, or if for some reason your car still want start after taking precautions 1 & 2 into consideration, you’re gonna need to run. A lot. Without the proper shoes, evading a psycho killer can be quite exhausting.
4. Randy Orton! Yes, the wrestler. I can’ think of anyone I’d rather have in my corner than a guy who can hit an RKO out of nowhere and drive your assailant’s face into the ground. Of course you’ll have to make sure he’s well-fed and keeps up his workout regimen so when it’s time to fight, you can call on him.
5. A reliable spell-book to send any pea-soup vomiting demons back to the pit they crawled out of. The older and more beat-up the better. Bonus points if the book is also bound in human flesh. Be careful though, the wrong spell or the right spell uttered incorrectly can make things a lot worse. Bottom line, regardless of what you have in your crate, know your stuff.
Guest Post by Horror Author Glenn Rolfe
Please give a warm welcome to friend and fellow horror scribe, Glenn Rolfe. You may remember my interview with him a few months back. Today he’s here to talk about the joys of the Halloween season and his brand new werewolf novel, BLOOD AND RAIN.
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This month, Samhain Publishing released my werewolf novel, Blood and Rain. I cannot express how cool it is to have this baby come out in October. I mean, this is the month of all months, right? Halloween? So cool.
For most of us horror guys and gals, we like to delve into the dark side any time of year, but for the majority of the people out there, October is the perfect season for scary reading. It’s when your aunt Mae puts down her Patricia Cromwell or Janet Evanovich novels and reaches for the Dean Koontz book in the dark corner of the bookshelf. It’s when Uncle Eddy sets Robert Parker to the side and dives into Pet Sematary. If Eddy or Mae are feeling especially wicked, and maybe they happened upon a copy of Ketchum’s Off Season or Laymon’s The Cellar at the Goodwill this summer, maybe they brave the unrelenting horror waiting within those yellowed paperback pages. Any way you slice it, they’re in for a treat.
In Blood and Rain, I take a small town sheriff and pit him against one helluva monster. There’s no cute love story. There’s no conflicted beast trying to decide whether or not to give into its primal urges. There are no perfect people. And if you think everyone is coming out of the next full moon alive and well? You will be in for s surprise. This is a mean machine of a novel that decided to treat like a trail of gasoline–open page one, drop the match, and get ready for this story to fucking burn.
What would Mae or Eddy think if they stumbled across my book? Well, that’s the other thing. While it is definitely a horror novel, I want it to be that next book in the dark end of the bookshelf at your aunt and uncles. These characters are real. Their flaws are flaws that we all have. The town could be any small town you’ve lived in or passed through. Gilson Creek, Maine is like a mash-up of Farmingdale, Gardiner, and Augusta, the places I grew up. I hope in writing my people and the places the way that I have it will make them and my story accessible to any fiction fan out there. Even Mae or Eddy. But definitely you and me.
There are a lot of horror books out there today (and a lot of GREAT ones this year in particular). I hope whether you’re a full-time fan of horror fiction or just a once and a while spook-seeker, you’ll give Blood and Rain a chance to scare the hell out of you. Happy October reading!
Cheers!
Lucas Mangum 