Horror Aficionados discussion

I'm pleased to announce that James Newman has graciously accepted our request to read his latest offering, Odd Man Out with us. James will also be lowering the price on Amazon to $ 0.99 from 6/25 - 7/1. Last, but certainly not least, James is offering two signed/personalized editions of Odd Man Out to two lucky winners that post an honest review on Goodreads and on Amazon. You can purchase Odd Man Out here:

https://www.amazon.com/Odd-Man-Out-Ja...

Without further ado, please help me welcome James Newman!

I literally just read this novella. I cannot recommend it enough. HA members are in for an incredible read! Looking forward to joining the discussion!

Looking forward to it!

(and thanks so much for the kind words, Troy!)

I read this back in March, and it's amazing, and also what I would call an important book (in the same way Schindler's List is an important movie, if that makes sense). Looking forward to the discussion - thanks for participating, James!

This is great news! Thanks for organizing this, Ken. And thank you, James, for participating.

I can't wait! I already have a copy of this book on my kindle and I'll be very happy to join in this read.

Niiice! This was a great read and James is one of my favorite authors. Some heavy content here that should make for good discussion.

Hello, James!

I can't recommend this book highly enough--I'll definitely be following along.

Just finished this book a few days ago. Don't skip this one. Amazing story.

Thanks, James! I always participate in these as much as I can, as I love actually talking with the people who write the things I love to read. --Jen from Quebec :0)

Count me in, as well!

I'll be joining in, too:-). I already have this one on my Kindle, and have heard great things about it.

I read this one recently and rated it 5 stars! A great read.
James was very interesting to talk to also!

Thanks, all -- can't wait!

I thought this was easily a 5 star read, but will be re-reading it along with the group!! :)

I just tried the Amazon link, and it was still at $3.01. Is it not started yet or because I'm not in the US? It was still Amazon.com, but not all sale prices apply if you're accessing it from another country (Canada for me).

Mixofsunandcloud wrote: "I just tried the Amazon link, and it was still at $3.01. Is it not started yet or because I'm not in the US? It was still Amazon.com, but not all sale prices apply if you're accessing it from anoth..."
Oh--that will make a difference! For whatever reason, Amazon doesn't seem to offer the same price reductions in different countries at the same time.... :(

The 99c/99p Countdown sale can be found here:

US - http://bit.ly/OddManKindle
UK - http://amzn.to/2eDmmTb

James, would you tell everyone how the wonderful cover of Odd Man Out came to be and how covers to your books, in general, are created? How much input do you have?

Yeah, Canadians are not getting the deal. Bummer, eh? I already have a copy, so I am cool, but if some people were *waiting* for today to start reading, well...nuts! --Jen from Quebec :0)

I've never read any books by James. I'm also new to any type of Group Reads on Goodreads. I just joined the July read that Latasha is hosting. I'm going to, hopefully, shred through this Gaiman book so I'm ready for this Group Read with James. I'm quite interested because the book description is short, leaving a mysterious feeling with me, and the book has such excellent reviews from HA. I'm totally intrigued, can't wait!

It's still a good price, I just wanted to be sure that if I bought it at 3$, it wouldn't drop a couple of hours later.

This will be my first book by James. Can't wait.

Looking so forward to this. Purchased it and ready to go :D

Tonya wrote: "This will be my first book by James. Can't wait."

This one is phenomenal! If you're looking for something to follow up with afterward, I'd recommend Ugly As Sin, and Animosity. :)

I apologize to all Canadians for the price difference, but the blame falls on Amazon. They have yet to add the ability for authors/publishers to create Kindle Countdown Deals outside of Amazon US or UK

- Pete (Bloodshot Books Editor)

Ken said: James, would you tell everyone how the wonderful cover of Odd Man Out came to be and how covers to your books, in general, are created? How much input do you have?

Working in the small press, the writer does have quite a bit of input more often than not. When all is said and done, of course, it is ultimately the publisher's decision -- they're the one who puts up the money to produce the book, after all, so they want something that will entice readers to buy their product -- but I've never worked with a publisher who didn't at least ask me what I had in mind.

For the very first (limited) edition of ODD MAN OUT -- which was published in early 2016 by Thunderstorm Books -- I wanted something very subtle, haunting. So we went with a distant shot of the camp; if you look closely you see a lone figure sitting on the raft in the middle of the lake. Classy stuff from artist Luke Spooner. I was very pleased. Naturally, for Bloodshot Books' edition, I wanted something completely different. Publisher Pete Kahle and I opted for cover art that instantly said "HORROR". Hence the bloody aftermath of what happened in Cabin #7 (courtesy of the incredibly talented Ben Baldwin). Love it.

I've been very blessed since I started writing professionally to have been stuck with only TWO covers that I didn't care for -- one was just boring, and the other one I despise (and no, I won't tell you which title had the latter cover 'cause it's currently in print :) .

Just downloaded it from Amazon and looking forward to reading it

I downloaded my copy yesterday. Your name looks familiar so I believe I've read some of your short stories. (I read a lot of anthologies.) This will be my first novel of yours though. I'm looking forward to it!

Just purchased this on amazon.uk. Looking forward to joining in a little later in July.

My plan to finish the other kindle book I was reading this weekend has been kicked in the ass by the stomach flu. I will get there though.

LOVING the opening! --Jen from Quebec :0)

Just finished it. Loved it. Gave it 5 stars.

Thank you very much, Ashley. I'm glad you enjoyed it (although I'm sure you'll agree that "enjoy" isn't quite the right word for this one :O

James - Since this story is a bit of a gut punch, how difficult was it to write? I would imagine that some parts were harder to get down on the page than others.

Great question, Bill . . . .

It was rough, man. I struggled with this one quite a bit, especially as I got closer and closer to the climax and things got worse and worse for Wesley, because it's a story that's just so *mean*, ya know? So bleak and hopeless. I worried myself sick that the whole thing might ultimately come across as exploitative, which of course I wanted to avoid at all costs. But I kept going, because as horrible as some of these characters are, there are people who have really done stuff like this to those who are "different." So I knew I had to keep going, because if the whole thing got under my skin then it would hopefully have the same effect on the reader. I felt that-- at the risk of sounding incredibly pretentious -- it was a story that needed to be told.

I finished this the other day and wow! What a powerful story! Parts made me squirm and feel really uncomfortable. It wasn't even necessarily the description of the physical violence but more the helplessness I felt for poor Wesley. I read it in one sitting and when I was finished I just had to sit still for a moment. Very thought provoking.

Thanks so much for the kind words, Kristy. That's definitely what I was going for. I knew all along that I didn't want to linger on the final act of violence once the moment arrived, but instead wanted to make that feeling of DREAD -- of things getting worse and worse and worse, the bullying escalating more and more every day -- just as powerful if not more-so than the final act itself.

The fact that this story is very much a "gut punch", as Bill said, is exactly why it stays with you. It's horrible to think about it, and yet the reality is that things like this DO happen--even if not to this physical extreme--they happen enough to seriously impact lives. A very difficult story to read, and yet one that I feel *everyone* should....

Kimberly wrote: "The fact that this story is very much a "gut punch", as Bill said, is exactly why it stays with you. It's horrible to think about it, and yet the reality is that things like this DO happen--even if..."

For me, that's what makes this story so powerful. Bad things DO happen to good people. Even "normal" people can have ugliness just underneath the surface when you peel their layers away. And doing nothing to stop a bad situation can be just like taking part in it. This story hit me on so many levels. Bill's right - Gut Punch.

I really enjoyed your writing style. The story drew me in quickly and kept me on edge. One of those stories that has you wondering "how far can it go.....".

It's not often I read something with such a pointed purpose, I had no idea that was coming and it's stayed with me. I talked to my 13 year old daughter about it too (no gorey details of course).

Just curious, did you know from the start it would be a short story, or did it just naturally end up that way?

I'd like to read more from you, do you have a particular favorite of your own, that's longer?

Thank you so much, Kimberly!

I did know that it would be novella-length. There's something about that "in-between" length that I love -- longer than a short story but much shorter than a novel. Even my novels usually end up on the shorter end (between 40-60,000 words vs. the average length for most novels at around 80-85,000 words). I always shoot for brevity in my work, tight prose that keeps the momentum going and doesn't wear out its welcome, if that makes sense.

Hmmm . . . a favorite novel of my own? That's one of those questions for which I'd have a different answer for you on any given day, depending on my mood. I had the most fun writing UGLY AS SIN and think it's my best from a technical standpoint. Judging from your reaction to ODD MAN OUT, I think you would really enjoy ANIMOSITY, which is sort of a thematic companion piece to ODD MAN OUT (I didn't realize that until I had nearly finished writing ODD MAN OUT, but it's true). ANIMOSITY is my love letter to the horror genre, a story that explores what people are capable of when they are afraid, when they allow themselves to be misled and rumors and misinformation . . . .

Sorry to ramble on. I aim for brevity in my writing, but have a tough time with it in conversation. :)

That's so cool that you discussed the story with your 13-year-old, BTW. I would love to hear more about that.

Oh! I wanted to share something with you guys, while I'm thinking about it. For those of you who enjoyed the novella, I thought you might like to read this brief essay I wrote about it, in which I spill some really personal stuff that inspired ODD MAN OUT . . . .

http://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/h...

About 1/3 through the story. Do boys really talk like among themselves? All the homosexual put downs? I'm female so thankfully I never had to listen to this but I am curious how horribly accurate the talk is.

Not sure about now, but when I was growing up? Absolutely.

My kindle is downloading it now. I'd already purchased it, but I buy enough stuff on kindle that I tend to wait until I'm about to start something, and get everything at once. Reading this thread made me decide I could get back to the other book I was reading later.

WendyB wrote: "About 1/3 through the story. Do boys really talk like among themselves? All the homosexual put downs? I'm female so thankfully I never had to listen to this but I am curious how horribly accurate t..."

I have to agree with James on this one. His dialogue was spot on how my peers talked at that age.

I just started this book today. I can already tell it will be a stay-up-until-2-a.m. type of read;-).

The story brought me to tears. It is wonderful and horrible and thought provoking.
Thank you, James.