Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Keturah and Lord Death

Happy Halloween and congratulations to our October drawing winner, Tiffany D. of Belton, Missouri. Tiffany selected Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt.


"What's better than the a love story about a girl and Death?" Tiffany said. "If you're going to fall for a god, he's definitely one of the more brooding and dangerous gods out there. As long as you ignore the creepy metaphor behind the whole thing, it's a lot of fun!"

Saturday, October 27, 2012

In Line with Martin Kee

First time author Martin Kee joins us to talk about his novel, A Latent Dark, and his upcoming 2013 book, Bloom.

Kee is one of eight horror and dark fantasy authors featured in Story Bundle's Halloween Horror Bundle, which is a pay-what-you-want ebook package. Check it out!

Breadline Books: Can you talk about the process of how A Latent Dark came into existence, from concept to the final edits?

Martin Kee: Conceptually, I was inspired by the idea of how fear of death shapes religion. I began to wonder what it would be like for someone who already knew what came after. What if they already saw the truth? What if they knew that it wasn't anything like what they tell you in church? What if it was a dark, alien place with predators?

I started with a very, very loose outline, nothing more than a page really. I'm somewhere between a pantzer and a plotter, in that I like a very small amount of loose structure when I write. I call these tentpole ideas, main plot points that must be included to hold the story up. The rest is discovery.

I wrote the first words of the rough draft in February 2010 with very little idea where it would take me. It started with Skyla wandering the streets after the awful events in her house had just occurred. Most of the chapters from there on started as backstory and had to be removed. It was a huge learning process for about two years.

Which author would you be most flattered to be compared to?

Oh gosh. If I were to go out on a limb here, I'd say Stephen King? He is certainly one of my first influences and the author who originally inspired me to start writing fiction in the first place. His book ON WRITING was immensely helpful when I started on my novel.

I have a long way to go before that comparison works, in my opinion.

Your next book is called Bloom. Can you give us a little hint of what to expect?

Bloom is equal parts bio-horror and dark fairy tale. There are two main characters, each with their own unique world and story, yet the two eventually merge towards the end. It's unlike any book I have written or read, and I hope you'll forgive me if it's a little hard to explain. Think Darwin's Radio or The Andromeda Strain meets Grimm's Fairy Tales. It is very gory, very violent, and very adult.

Tennyson Middlebrook is a boy growing up in the California Central Valley as a new disease emerges. Bloom is a highly contagious fungal affliction that effects memory, physical appearance, and personality. It seems to have infected his best friend and love interest Allison--though she has other health issues as well. As bloom spreads throughout the world, causing horrific deaths, Tennyson attempts to regain contact with Allison, perhaps even rescue her. This involves returning to his home town despite the obvious health risks.

Lil'it is not human. She is small, fragile, and beautiful. She lives in a cage, her saliva used to create potions for a hag. It isn't until she is sold to a local prince as a plaything that she realizes just how dangerous and terrifying her world really is. Her journey, like Tennyson's is one of survival and the need to find human connection amid atrocity and cruelty.

It should be out early in 2013.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Gatsby in Michigan

Masood of East Lansing, Michigan added The Great Gatsby to an already tasteful collection this week. There should be plenty of time for Masood to reread the classic novel before the movie comes out, especially now that the film has been pushed to next summer.

Monday, October 15, 2012

More Moore

Here's Dirk F. of Cincinnati with his new Chris Moore book. The novel is actually so intense it can't be read while wearing a shirt. Good luck, Dirk!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Great Gatsby

And yet another classic novel joins the bookshelf this month. Masood from Michigan was second in line this month, and selected The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.


"Recently, I've been rereading books that were part of my school's curriculum," said Masood. "A few weeks ago, I read Catcher in the Rye and it stunned me as to how much I didn't appreciate it during high school. I'm currently reading The Giver. I want to read The Great Gatsby again because it was one of my favorites in high school.

"At the time, however, I was more focused on passing the quizzes we had after different chapters, and what my thesis for my paper would be. I want to read it this time for the writing and the story. I want to read it for the amazing book that it is."

Monday, October 8, 2012

Bloodsucking Fiends

Bloodsucking Fiends is probably the one vampire book most unlike anything by Stephenie Meyer. Dirk F. of Cincinnati was at the front of the line this month, and chose this instant cult classic by Christopher Moore.



Dirk said,

I am a fan of Moore--love Lamb, A Dirty Job, and Practical Demonkeeping. I have not read Bloodsucking Fiends, so I am really looking forward to it. Keeping with the October spirit, I think this would make a good pair with the other book on my list this month, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. He proposed All Hallow's Read recently and I plan to lend out these books to my sister and a close friend.

And now that we are on the subject of All Hallow's Read, Neil Gaiman is suggesting that everyone give a scary book this year for Halloween. We think it is a great idea. Check out the video and website for more information.


Thursday, October 4, 2012

October Breadline Open

It's almost Halloween time again, the perfect season to grab a terrifying book and let it consume you long into the deep night hours. With that in mind, we'd love to see some requests this month for your favorite October reads.

The monthly drawing is back now as well, so anyone who gets in line this month has a chance of winning. Good luck!

Jack always manages to get to the front breadline

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

eGunslinger



Our friend Stephen from Australia shows off his fancy ebook. Also, look for the breadline to open again very soon!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Suttree Arrives

Our good friend Daniel C. can now add Suttree to his McCarthy collection. In fact, he loves it so much he cleared his mantel of all family photos to make room for it!