"Tales of Hard Knocks Redemption"

There's a great new review of my short story collection Lesser Demons over at the Cemetery Dance website. In part, Jason Ridler has this to say: "...Partridge is free range writer of fiction, a mercenary of genre stories that range from the gentle and atmospheric to the true grit of the fiction he's best known for, hard-boiled horror. With an equal love of horror and rugged literature, the influences etched on his sleeve range from Ray Bradbury to Lee Marvin, Poe to Peckinpah, and his body of work, from novels, to short stories, should sit comfortably on the shelf of any fan of Joe Lansdale, Richard Matheson, or John Skipp."

Of course, that's the kind of review that's a definite day-maker, but apart from that it's got me wondering what would have happened if Mssrs. Poe and Peckinpah had managed to get together and uncork a bottle or two...

Uh-Oh...

Got this illo today from my buddy Kevin Nordstrom. It's inspired by "The Iron Dead" from my last SubPress short story collection, Lesser Demons, and I hope it gives you a grin (of the sardonic variety).

I Got a Rocket in My Pocket...

...and a roll in my walk, so baby don't fuss me with that North Forty talk (unless it's about a really cool rockabilly CD shuffle play with a couple of boxed sets guaranteed to get your Saturday morning rockin').

Oktober Shadows Artists

Good news for all of you who preordered the limited or lettered edition of Oktober Shadows from Cemetery Dance during the four-day window when the book was available -- we've got a couple of great artists involved in the project, and we're ready to announce them now.

First off, Jon Foster will be doing the cover. If you've seen the piece Jon did for my novel Dark Harvest (above), you'll understand why he's one of my absolute favorites. His work is flatout amazing. And while it's the oldest line in the book, it's true: I really can't wait to see what Jon comes up with for Oktober Shadows. Just imagine: a Jon Foster cover for a novella about a WWI soldier battling his way through a world inhabited by werewolves, vampires, and other assorted dead things? I can tell you that it will be a keeper before the brush even hits the canvas.

Just as exciting: Glenn Chadbourne will be doing interior illustrations for the project. A Cemetery Dance-favorite, Glenn's the talented artist behind the amazing Stephen King collections, The Secretary of Dreams, Volume One and Volume Two. This is my first time working with Glenn, and I'm looking forward to it. I've admired his work for a long time -- since he illustrated a tale ("The Kiss") written by my bride, Tia Travis, for the anthology Subterranean Gallery -- and it's great to have him on board for Oktober Shadows.

We Interrupt This Author...

...with a new interview over at Cemetery Dance. I had fun talking to Joe Howe about Halloweens past and present, the novella market, and upcoming Norm Partridge projects. Check 'er out.

While I'm at it, this is the kind of content you'll get if you subscribe to the Cemetery Dance Insider newsletter. If you're not already getting that, you might want to sign up. It's a great way to stay informed about my upcoming projects with CD -- and the best way to get a virtual head's up about limited-time offers like Oktober Shadows.

And: you will want to stay tuned. Just saying...

Squirrel Monkeys: Attack!

I spent part of Halloween weekend sitting on the couch and reading the great Dark Horse reprints of old Creepy and Eerie comics with my Canadian brother-in-law. We were both having flashbacks checking out the old ads from James Warren's Captain Company, featuring everything from dimestore novelties to monster masks to Venus flytraps... and squirrel monkeys, shipped directly to your door for just $19.95!

We wondered how many kids actually bought themselves a little primate pal, and how exactly the deal worked out for them. Through the magic of the internet, Lafe found out. Check out the true stories of squirrel monkey owner adventures, right here.

And now I'm wondering -- were there any small towns where a bunch of kids ordered monkeys from Mr. Warren and abandoned them? I can imagine urban gangs of squirrel monkeys knocking over the local donut shop on a Saturday night, or wild groups setting up colonies in the local woods... Who knows, maybe those smart little critters even planted forests of Mr. Warren's mail-order Venus flytraps and harvested that insectile protein right out of their slavering vegetative jaws!

Of course, one of them would have to be in charge. A smart one. Kind of like a primate Mr. Kurtz.

The horror! The horror!

Oktober Shadows -- Limitation Numbers

Thought I'd take a minute and pass on the limitation numbers for the special Cemetery Dance limited and lettered hardcover editions of Oktober Shadows, determined by the orders that came in last weekend:

Limited Edition: 586
Lettered Edition: 52

A few notes: the Limited Edition will be bound in full-cloth and Smyth sewn, and the Lettered Edition will be traycased and bound in leather with a satin ribbon page marker. Both editions will be signed. But that's just the tip of the iceberg with this one -- CD has some great art and production plans we'll announce later. Stay tuned.

And while I'm at it: thanks to all who preordered Oktober Shadows during the four-day window of availability. Rich and Brian at CD are very happy with the numbers, and Brian tells me they've never had such a good response to an offer with this short an ordering window. From my side of the fence, I appreciate you showing your support for my work with your hard-earned cash, and I hope you're as excited about the novella as I am. It'll be great to see Oktober Shadows between hard covers courtesy of the folks at Cemetery Dance.

Meanwhile, Back at the Overlook Hotel...

...our pal Cody Goodfellow is the last man standing (er... sitting) at the annual Halloween Party in the Jack Torrance Memorial Suite.

Man. I think I'm going to have nightmares about this for weeks. (And no, Cody -- I don't want to know what happened in the hedge maze!)

A Bucketful of Gracias

Just wanted to check in and thank everyone who took a break from the candy corn and ordered a copy of my forthcoming Cemetery Dance novella, Oktober Shadows, over the weekend. I'm happy, the folks at CD are happy, and from the emails I've received it looks like you readers are happy, too.

Just to answer a few questions that have popped up:

1. We don't have an exact number on the limitation of this project yet. I can tell you that all 52 lettered copies of the book have been sold, but the number of limiteds is still to be determined as the CD crew processes the orders that came in before the pre-order window closed on Monday.
2. We're aiming for a publication date well-in-advance of next October. A factor in that will be how long it takes the artist to complete the work -- Rich and Brian are planning to include quite a few illos in this one.
3. And when it comes to the artist, we might be talking artists. Been trading some emails with Brian about that today... so stay tuned.

The October Boy... 2010 Edition

Just wanted to check in with a pic of the special October Boy Jack o' Lantern I carved up last night here at Casa Partridge with my regulation Dark Harvest butcher knife. Pretty happy with this guy, and the local trick-or-treaters loved him.

Also, no hard sell, but here's your official reminder that today is the last day to order a copy of Oktober Shadows from Cemetery Dance. Once midnight rolls around, the numbers for the signed limited and lettered edition of this novella will be set in stone, and that's it. I'll just say I'm very excited about the production and art Rich and Brian have planned for the book, and I can't wait to hold it in my hands. Really looking forward to it.

Anyway, hope your Halloween was a good one. Ours was. But what's this sudden fascination with Kit-Kat Bars? Man, that's all the trick-or-treaters wanted last night."Wow! This house has Kit-Kats! They even have one in a white wrapper! Wow! Can I have a Kit-Kat? Can I have two? Wow! White wrappers! White wrappers!"

Man. I'm sitting here this morning with a bowlful of Snickers in front of me. I never thought I'd see the day. But that's okay. I'm Old School. Snickers are Champion.

Like, undisputed.