Wednesday, May 20, 2015

"Love Is For Suckers" Cover...Final Version

And here it is, complete with cover text...courtesy Crossroad Press. Pretty slick, eh?


The PDF edition of you can download here has been updated to include the final cover, as well!

It should be appearing just about everywhere ebooks are sold within the next day or so, so you'll be able to find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and the works. In the meantime, you can download the PDF of it via the link below. Remember, this is a free ebook, so you're welcome to share it to your heart's content, and even print it out if you like!

Monday, May 11, 2015

Presenting... "Love Is For Suckers!"

It's been a long time since I've been able to do this, what with all the editing and preparation that's gone into getting the Unholy War duology ready for publication. All the work and waiting has been well worth it, and with the duology coming this summer, the fun is truly about to begin!

But even so, it's been around two years since the last time I released a new tale for you guys, so I'm doing this with more than a little glee! Especially since this story is an answer to a question many readers have posed to me over the years: how did Steele and Clarisse first meet?

Today you finally get the action-packed, blood-splattered answer, and I think you're gonna love it. Below is the link for the "Love Is For Suckers" .pdf file, which is available for free. You can download it to your computer, phone, tablet, or whatever. You can print it out and give it to your friends. If you present me with a hard copy, I'll happily sign it for you. You can link to it on your website or Facebook or Twitter or whatever. Spread the word far and wide and have fun!

Not only that, but "Suckers" has a special preview of Unholy War: The Gathering Storm to whet your appetite. Enough talk. Time to travel back to August of 1987, where Steele is feeling very sorry for himself after a messy breakup with a succubus...

Friday, May 8, 2015

"Love Is For Suckers" Cover!

After nearly two years of waiting and preparation, the floodgates of new (R)Evolution By Night material will be opening soon, and it begins this Saturday with "Love Is For Suckers," the never-before-told tale of Clarisse and Steele's first meeting.

"Suckers" will initially be available to attendees of the Peoria Artist & Comic Expo (ACE), where I'll be appearing on this weekend. It's at the Noble Center in Lakeview Park in Peoria, Illinois, and will be running from 10 to 7 on Saturday the 9th and 9 to 5 on Sunday the 10th. I'll be handing out special little postcards that'll have a QR code on it that you can scan with your phone and immediately download the story, so if you're at the Peoria ACE, stop by and say hello!

I'll also be posting the link to "Love Is For Suckers" right here after this weekend, so if you're not in the area, don't worry...you'll be reading it very soon. Within a few weeks, Crossroad Press -- my publisher -- will be making it available pretty much everywhere, so you'll be able to get it for your Kindle, Nook, or whatever.

So in preparation for the imminent release of "Love Is For Suckers," I'd like to officially reveal the cover artwork for the tale, as done by the immensely-talented Mr. Daniël S. Hugo. Daniël's built upon what the incomparable Nathan Smith did with our heroes, took some bits from the original inspirations for the characters, and has given us a vision of the vampires of Hollywood that's both new and dynamic and yet immediately familiar.

Without further ado, here's Daniël's cover for "Love Is For Suckers," featuring Clarisse and Steele, together for the very first time...


Be sure to check back here on Monday for the full story behind this lovely cover! Also, in the meantime, check out more of Daniël's wonderful work at Daniël Hugo Illustration!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

The Vampires Formerly Known As...

The (R)Evolution By Night started life all the way back in 1997 as the Hollywood Vampires, building a small, but fiercely loyal following around the world. The mixture of adventure, humor, and 80's-era rock 'n roll caught on with readers looking for something different in the realm of urban fantasy, and as I wrote story after story, more elements of horror, sci-fi, and the fantastic began creeping in, as well.

I self-published five books in the series between 2001 and 2011, and then the Vampires were signed by Dark Continents Publishing in 2013, thanks to the efforts of my tireless publicist Sylvia Shults. Then, unfortunately, DCP had to close its doors in 2014...but because my intrepid editor, one Nerine Dorman, believed in me and the Hollywood Vampires, she got me signed to Crossroad Press immediately afterwards.

Fast-forward to spring of 2015, and I discovered Alice Cooper and some of his friends were forming a supergroup called the Hollywood Vampires. Oh really? And they'd trademarked the name. Oh crap. But Alice was a part of the original Hollywood Vampires, a drinking club dating back to the 1970's, and since I got the name from L.A. Guns -- who'd gotten it from Alice in the first place -- I figured if the name truly belonged to anybody, it was Alice.

Besides, my vision for the Hollywood Vampires had been growing and expanding far beyond the confines of modern-day Hollywood, and the name -- while beloved -- seemed almost limiting considering what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. With the series, I wanted to reach back to ancient Rome (and even farther back) and look to the stars above. The world I was creating was very much like ours, but different. Jimi Hendrix was still alive. The Space Age didn't come to an unsatisfying end. Humanity was, as a whole, a little less stupid thanks to vampires preying on the idiots for centuries on end.

With the series, I wanted to take a look at what kind of fantastic adventures vampires would have, and how they'd change the world...and how the world would change them. Because these vampires are as human as you and me, and at the end of the day (night), they just want to live, laugh, and love. But as the ancient werewolf proverb says, that which doesn't grow...dies. It's about moving forward, learning, fighting, winning, losing, and forever evolving. It's a vampire revolution, treading places immortals have never gone before.

(Well, in between tales about rock 'n roll, monsters, and off-the-wall shit. Not every story has to have much of a point...sometimes you just wanna see a vampire slug it out with a foul-mouthed chupacabra and call it good. And as my longtime readers know, I've got a fondness for telling vampire vs. horrible monster stories.)

So before any cease-and-desist letters had any chance to fly, I stepped away from the name...it's in good hands with Alice. Thus, the Revolution By Night was born. Or, if you will, the (R)Evolution By Night. It's about revolution and evolution, beneath the eternal star-shot vault of the night skies.

The Hollywood Vampires are no more...that era has come to an end. Long Live The (R)Evolution!