The 48th Delusion

Exclusive Cover Reveal for TDH2!

It’s been a while since I posted a proper newsletter. I was doing them twice a month since the beginning, but I just haven’t really felt it. My last one was on my thoughts about themed anthologies. I think I might do more newsletters like that in between less frequent updates like this one. But who knows? I might just post a newsletter once a month instead of bi-weekly. I do know that I need to stick to a schedule, or I will completely forget like back when I had a blog.

Welcome to Confusions, Delusions and Formidable Impressions. I have a feeling this will be short but sweet. Part of why I haven’t posted a newsletter in a while is because I’ve been busy writing. With such limited time to write, the newsletter isn’t nearly as important to me as putting down new words. On top of that, I was hit with edits for two different books at the same time. I do try to keep busy.

News

Look for This Damned House II sometime in April. I tried to get copies to bring with to Scares That Care AuthorCon II, but Barnes and Noble is completely ignoring me at this point. I have no idea what the hold up is. I will begin the process of publishing through Amazon and hope to have the book out shortly after the convention. I was going to release it the weekend of the convention but that seems like a bad idea. These days, book launches tend to put me into a few days of depression. On top of that, I wouldn’t be able to promote it very much. I’m rarely on social media during a convention.

Here’s a sneak peek at the cover art. I haven’t shared this anywhere and won’t until release day. I did the art myself.

In preparation for This Damned House II, grab yourself a copy of my last book, The Philth Pig. It’s a story of emotional vampirism taken to horrific extremes. Imagine if you could consume human emotions like drugs. What would it be like to get high on hopes and dreams and joy and . . . the hard stuff: greed?

Recent Reads from Hell

Right now, I’m reading Hindsight by Ronald Kelly and Ralph ‘Sonny’ Barger Ridin’ High, Livin’ Free by Kieth and Kent Zimmerman. Both very good. I’m completely sucked in the Kelly book. It’s a strong debut for sure, and that doesn’t surprise me in the least. He’s one of the greats.

I just finished Cruel Summer by Wesley Southard. Excellent read! This book has a lot of heart matched with action and beachy horror. Being I grew up in San Diego County frequently going to the beach and fishing the bay, I found a lot to connect with in this book outside of the plot and that fact that it’s a well written and engaging horror novel. I’ve read several Southard books at this point, and this ranks among the best of them.

Final Thoughts

For the first time ever, at least as far as self-publishing goes, I have had at least one book sold each day for the past month. I check my sales figures every morning. A while back I said I was going to stop doing this because it was bringing me down. I realized that I needed to change my approach to things. We cannot compare ourselves to others in the business, though most of us do, whether we admit it or not. People post their sales figures online, something I have never done, and it can be a real blow to those of us struggling for scraps and chum. I’ve told myself that if things progress and my books start taking off and I have really great sales figures that I will never share them publicly. I will always remember how shitty it feels to be the writer in the trenches for all these years wondering why the fuck my books don’t take off like that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also encouraging to see those sales figures and think one day maybe I’ll be that fortunate. So, when I say I’m pleased to see that I’ve sold at least one book a day for the past month, it’s not brag. Many days it’s just the one book. But it’s something. And I’ve also noticed the biggest reason is TikTok. Sick! Sick! Sick! has sold more this month than when it was released. Why? Because there were a couple of complimentary TikTok videos recently from readers who enjoyed the book. Other books that haven’t sold in months are getting picked up, such as Follow the Maggot Wagon and Death Obsessed.

To be honest, I don’t expect this to continue or keep growing. It seems when I get too eager and excited, things fall apart, and it tears me down. I’m just going to be pleased with things as they stand right now. If my sales go through the roof, I might mention it, but I’m never going to share numbers publicly. I get how exciting that must be, but I think it’s in bad taste.

So, with that, go out and read a horror book. Then tell the world about it. Your excitement over the art you enjoy might be the catalyst that encourages other to try something new.

Until next time . . .