Mark Rigney's Blog

Follow the link below to "Black Gate: Adventures in Fantasy Literature," where Rich Horton, former editor of the "Year's Best Science Fiction" series gives "Vinyl Wonderland" a stellar review.

The review focuses a bit on plot, so if you want to know how much he loved it without falling prey to SPOILER ALERTS, then read the first paragraph, and then the last two.

It is a VERY complimentary review!

I'll just be over here, swooning in the corner.

Onward!

https://www.blackgate.com/2024/06/28/...

June 25th remains the publication date, but pre-orders are now open for both the ebook and paperback editions. Amazon is a one option.

Also, the good folks at Black Gate (see link, below) just called it "easily the best novel I've read so far this year."

High praise. Color me blushing.

Onward!

https://www.amazon.com/Vinyl-Wonderla...

https://www.blackgate.com/2024/06/02/...

My new novel, Vinyl Wonderland, will arrive in print on June 25th, which is right around the corner!

Very excited.

My thanks to the good folks at Castle Bridge Media.

Right now, only the Kindle version can be pre-ordered, and paperback sales will kick off on the 25th of June.

Here's a LINK to order/pre-order:

https://www.amazon.com/Vinyl-Wonderla...

Gentle Readers All -

My new novel, "Vinyl Wonderland," will be published by Castle Bridge Media late in 2024.

Look for a sneak-peek at the cover in late summer 2024, and who knows what else.

In the meantime, back to writing. In this weary, war-torn world, the story-lines just keep coming...

Mark

Just checking in long enough to know that the ink is drying on a new contract for a new book.

It's been far too long, but I'm not out of the game by any means.

Stay tuned!

Good news and a public announcement to follow, likely within the next week.

Onward!

Gentle, loyal readers:
I had hoped, by this point in the summer of 2017, to have news to share regarding what's coming next in my publishing career.
Sadly, so far, all I have are pins and needles.
I'm sitting on them.
Good news (since this is Goodreads) will surely follow, but only in its own good time.
Patience...is a virtue? A given name? A trait all but impossible to accept?
I'm currently reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I just finished J.M. Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello.
What about you?
Onward.

So, one of my publishers, and the one that has been handling my Renner & Quist titles, is going belly up. That's right, out of business! This happens all the time in the world of publishing, especially with small presses, and eventually my rights will revert back to me, at which point I can sell them all over again to someone else. It'll be incumbent on me, in the meantime, to make a dent with fresh material such that R&Q will be attractive to somebody else.

Anyway, here's my point: if you have been putting off purchasing any of my Renner & Quist titles, including THE SKATES, SLEEPING BEAR, CHECK-OUT TIME, and BONESY, don't delay any longer. The exact date of Samhain's final breath is very much up in the air, but once they're gone, it will be quite difficult to order these titles, at least for the foreseeable future..

So. Carpe diem, and such.

In the meantime, you can find additional details of what I've got out and available in print, including plays, stories, and non-fiction, at my website:

http://www.markrigney.net/Rigney/Home...

Come visit!

And I wish you the best in your reading life and beyond.

: )

Mark

Hello Readers,

Bonesy, my latest novel, has arrived as of September 1, and as of today, Sept. 23, the two giveaways I just ran are concluded, and the winners' books are in the mail. Bonesy has received very positive (even ecstatic) reviews from Horror Maiden, Black Gate, and the Low Budget Book Review.

If you haven't yet caught up with Renner & Quist, here's a link to my author page at Samhain Publishing:

https://www.samhainpublishing.com/aut...

I might also suggest reading (free!) the short story that started it all, and one that is no longer much of a risk since it now channels rather than anticipates the new direction of our nation as regards gender and marriage. Check it out, and you'll see what I mean. It's called "A Perfect Wedded Bliss" and you can find it at my website:

http://www.markrigney.net/Rigney/Perf...

If you wish, for whatever reason, to know more about me as a writer and all around gadfly, a brand new and extensive interview has been posted over at YouAreEntitledToMyOpinion:

http://youareentitledtomyopinioninter...

Frankly, it was a fun interview all 'round. My thanks to site owner Scott Lefebvre for including me.

For reviews (positive!) and a good many links to my various writing projects, please visit my webpage:

http://www.markrigney.net/Rigney/Home...

There. That's the news from my particular writer's garret.

Now to add another two thousand words to my latest project, a brand-new novel...and one not even remotely in the ballpark of horror. Let's hope I'm as multi-talented as I think I am, eh?

: )

Onward!

Hello Readers,

Bonesy, my latest novel, arrives on NetGalley on July 1, and will be available to one and all come September 1.

If you haven't yet caught up with its three prequels, here's a link to my author page at Samhain Publishing:

https://www.samhainpublishing.com/aut...

I might also suggest reading (free!) the short story that started it all, and one that, as of today (6/26/15), is no longer much of a risk since it now channels rather than anticipates the new direction of our nation as regards gender and marriage. Check it out, and you'll see what I mean. It's called "A Perfect Wedded Bliss" and you can find it at my website:

http://www.markrigney.net/Rigney/Perf...

If you wish, for whatever reason, to know more about me as a writer and all around gadfly, a brand new and extensive interview has been posted over at YouAreEntitledToMyOpinion:

http://youareentitledtomyopinioninter...

Frankly, it was a fun interview all 'round. My thanks to site owner Scott Lefebvre for including me.

If you're in the neighborhood of Indianapolis come August, stop by the Indy Fringe Festival and come see "The Shout," a topical (but comedic!) one-act that I'll be debuting, courtesy of In the Mix Ensemble. Rehearsals start in four weeks, and I can't wait. I'm in love with my cast, not to mention my director. This is good, since my director is also my wife.

August 7 update: showtimes for "The Shout," which is looking great in rehearsal, may be found here:

http://inthemixensemble.org/?page_id=41

Also: Bonesy has received its first review! It's a Youtube review, of all things, from The Low Budget Review Show.

Did host Erik Smith LOVE it?

Yep.

Here's the link. Much discussion of plot, but after the ten-minute mark he gets on to the superlatives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKC9F...

There. That's the news from my particular writer's garret.

All my best, as always, and keep your eyes peeled for giveaways of both Check-Out Time and Bonesy. Both are imminent!

Onward.

May. Is there no end to the writing projects?

I’ve turned in my latest draft of The Copyist to my agent, and our mutual expectation is that he’ll shortly be shopping it to publishers. Very exciting; my first historical! At least in novel form. I’ve done historicals as short fiction and as plays. Rewarding. Difficult. Research required.

Meanwhile, the next Renner & Quist novel is slated for a Sept. 1 release. Bonesy! I'm very pleased with the (gruesome, a bit) cover. Having just read over the copy-edited manuscript, I got to see the book with fresh eyes (I hadn’t looked at it since late fall, 2014), and I was pleasantly surprised to find a complex and emotional storyline that I really enjoyed. I can’t wait to share it with you.

If you haven’t yet delved into Check-Out Time, the prequel to Bonesy, here’s one excellent source (the publisher):

https://www.samhainpublishing.com/boo...

Now I’m working over the latest revision of a play, The Shout, set to debut at Indianapolis’ Indy Fringe Fest in August of this year. If you’re in striking distance of Indy, come see! The schedule isn’t posted yet, but here’s a link to the festival itself:

http://indyfringe.org/indyfringe-thea...

In reading, I’m working through John Crowley’s The Solitudes. He’s a favorite, but so far, sixty pages in, I’m lost and baffled––but in what I suppose might be called “a good way.” His writing is so fine, so observant, so precise, so playful, that I cannot help but follow along. Based on my experience with his masterpiece, Little, Big, I know he’ll take me on a terrific journey. All I have to do is keep turning the pages.

Via audio book, I’m 80% of the way through The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I’ve used author Mark Haddon’s terrific short story, “The Gun,” to teach my creative writing students back at Harlaxton (College), and when I heard that Incident had been adapted for the stage, I knew that eventually I’d get around to reading that, as well. The unreliable narrator is, in a neat sleight of hand, supremely reliable. So far, however, I prefer “The Gun,” which is, in my view, a perfect exemplar of the coming-of-age story.

Two unwritten short stories are calling (nay, hollering) my name, plus a new play. However, the yard and garden, now that it’s dance-around-the-Maypole season, call even more loudly.

Stop by again soon! Giveaways of both Check-Out Time and Bonesy are in the offing.

Onward.