Sunday, November 28, 2010

Mr MoOn's Review of David Dunwoody's Unbound and Other Tales

As Mr.MoOn's Nightmares All Day Day (12-10-10)draws closer I want to give you little reviews about the books I've chosen for my give away; in the case I haven't read the book I will review another book by that talented author. Since he was first up with my interviews it is only fitting I share a review I wrote awhile back for David Dunwoody's Unbound and Other Tales.





David Dunwoody is the talented author of one of my favorite zombie novels, Empire. I can honestly say Unbound and Other Tales takes all the things I loved from Empire and spreads them out over a novel and a handful of short stories. Mr. Dunwoody builds grim worlds with very human (and very inhuman) characters to inhabit them. He then weaves tales that wrap and twist around you; pulling you into them. Mr. Dunwoody honors Lovecraft, in substance not style, in nearly every story here and the results are unique and terrifying. The title story, Unbound, is novel length while the eight stories that make up Other Tales are each quick bursts of madness that are over before you are ready for it.
In Unbound a wicked villain, Sharpe, from a popular series of pulp novels comes to life and wreaks hell on all in his path. The characters are all very solid but Sharpe steals the show as a supernatural badass you won't soon forget. Sharpe reminded me of the Judge from Cormack Mc McCarthy's Blood Meridian joined with every cowboy tough guy and movie serial killer I grew up with. Three desperate men, each having had Sharpe sadistically cut into their lives, make the unlikely team pit against the cowboy madman. The action is quick paced and violent as the story unfolds from the twists and layers Mr. Dunwoody weaves. Mr. Dunwoody's graphic storytelling shines here and calls to mind greats such as King, Laymon, and Mathison in turn without loosing his unique voice.
The short stories following the pulpy macabre Unbound continue to build on the dark feeling Mr. Dunwoody easily establishes early on. Voice, the first is haunting and heartbreaking at the same time in only a few pages.
The next, Saligia, is the lone real zombie story in the collection and it may be the weirdest of them all. The story builds in one direction then spins into an entire different one about midway. My mind couldn't help but search for the symbolism here, this story feels bigger than you catch with your eyes the first time through.
Ministry is a darkly semi-comedic piece that shows the hazards of "grave riding." This story features a re-occurring character, Mr. Chith, from other Dunwoody stories. The appearance of Mr. Chith backs up my claim that David Dunwoody builds his own personal mythos as he writes, giving you as a reader vast areas of his madness to explore.
The insanity of Clowns builds solid and thick into a truly terrifying tale. This story takes the idea of zombies taking over in a wonderfully twisted direction that really raises the hairs on the back of your neck. Imagine a town filled with emotionless clowns; all with the same painted blue smile.
Exhibit pulls you forward to a twisted ending with a Lovecraftian feel. There's a strong moral lesson buried under the sex and horror and Mr. Dunwoody polishes it up with a nice dash of irony.
Mr. Dunwoody's story Mother Tree was first featured on Choate road where he was awarded their spot-light scribe of the year. An old tree has lovers and children in this weird story told completely different then the rest of the collection. However, like the others it oozes an addictive darkness that engages you through out.
The last story, The Devil's Due, is set in purgatory as seen through Mr. Dunwoody's eyes. A former private eye is given a job by Satan in this pulpy horror story.
All in all a great collection of macabre and strange stories that will appease old Dunwoody fans and surely earn him more. The stories are as varied as they are strange but as a whole this book is darker than Lovecraft's coffin and it presses that feeling down on you. Highly recommended for fans of strange scary horror (if you are reading this then I mean you.)

Get it here

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Mr. Moon and Bizarro Horror X2

I'm very excited and proud to announce that Houdini Gut Punch is live on amazon.com! Yup, my first ever venture into the editing world (be afraid world, be very afraid) was born yesterday. And you know what makes the day even cooler? Houdini Gut Punch has a twisted Bizarro Horror brother! That's right Toe Tags 2: Blood and Bizarro, from Brian Barnett and William Pauley III, is live on amazon as well! That's two tomes of wicked weird bizarro horror for you, together boasting over thirty strange scary stories! Order both from amazon and get free shipping! A frakin' double dose of Jordan Krall and Kevin Shamel!If keep typing I'm only going to use more exclamation points so I'll just turn you loose on these two ToCs of 100% awesome.

Side A
NEON GUTTER MEAT-Jordan Krall
Consumer's Paradise-Patrick D'Orazio
The Claws that Catch- P.D. Hansen
The Fowlness- Stephanie Kincaid
Salami Rhett-Kevin Shamel
Another Double Helix Day In Tailertown- Ben McElroy
New Age- Rick Conrood
Real Love Burns- Jonathan Moon

Side B
Hit and Fun- Garrett Cook
Guy Who Got A Headache- Matt Nord
All Due Stories In Good Time- Timothy W. Long
The Aircrash Bureau (or How Johnny Carson and General Patton Hijacked a Space Shuttle To Get Back On The Air)- Nick Cato
You'll Be Grated When You're Dead- Ruth Imeson
!PING!- Christopher Fox
Drain Angel- Cameron C. Pierce

Find it here



THE SPIDERS OF HONEYVILLE by William Pauley III
FORECLOSURE by Garrett Calcaterra
SHADOW POX by David W Barbee
GUNS II by Joey Froehlich
THIRST by Laura Eno
WIT'S END by Suzie Bradshaw
GUY UNHINGED by Steve Lowe
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE TOMBSTONES by Joey Froehlich
BLACK ENVELOPES by Jordan Krall
GINGERBREAD MEN by John F.D. Taff
LISA GOT SQUASHED by Jodi MacArthur
A PRIVATE NIGHTMARE by Joey Froehlich
WAR AND PIECES by J. Travis Grundon
MOTHER'S SOLACE by Alan Spencer
SHEA by Kevin Shamel
UNTITLED by Joey Froehlich
THE NOWHERE ROOM by Andersen Prunty
CARNIVORL by Lee Hughes
HAPPINESS COMES IN SMALL PACKAGES by Brian Barnett

AVAILABLE HERE

See what I'm saying? Huzzah! And amazon is so excited they'll give you FREE shipping if you order them together! Boo. Ya. Ka.

MoOn

Monday, November 15, 2010

Mr. Moon Interviews William Pauley III



I'm sitting in a small dark room with stale smoke swirling around me. I've turned up the radio and let the animals out of their cages. I've smashed all the light bulbs and stepped on the broken glass. No, it's not my birthday. I'm trying to get in the right state of mind to talk with William Pauley III. Mr. Pauley is a hard working bizarro author/editor that writes quick moving bizarro fiction that jumps genres faster than Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed can do a pop star kick. Seriously friends, William Pauley III will be at the forefront of bizarro authors leaving their stain on the literary world and you should get hip to him now. Take for example this interview...it's chock full of laughs, pop culture nightmares, and Pauley's undeniable attitude. Enjoy!

Q. First of all, can I call you Pauley 3?

A. Yes, but only if you call me William first.
(Interviewer Note: Too fancy and rich for a damned nickname, huh?)

Q. Okay now that that’s out of the way, what are the earliest influences on your writing? Please include any social factors for wanting to write in addition to other authors and their work. What made you want to write?

A. I’ve always loved to read. I remember when I was a child my parents would often take me to the library. I was always drawn towards science fiction and mysteries mainly. Stuff like Encyclopedia Brown and those fun little ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ books. I also loved Goosebumps, which I think may be why I love B-movies so much now, especially horror and sci-fi B-movies. I was also very, very influenced by 90’s Nickelodeon shows – pretty much all of them. Nickelodeon was so weird and funny back then. I would be surprised to find a bizarro author who didn’t grow up watching Nickelodeon. Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, and Roald Dahl also became major influences for me. When I got a little older, around middle school age, I started reading more ‘grown up’ authors such as Ray Bradbury, George Orwell and H.G. Wells. While I always enjoyed horror films, I never really started reading horror until years later.

My first memory of actually writing was when I was about eight years old. My grandma gave me a blank notebook. I remember thinking that I wanted to write until every single page was filled up. I didn’t end up writing that much, but what I did write was a short story about the military finding an alien body and doing an autopsy on it. During the autopsy, the alien wakes up and kills everybody. A couple of years later, the movie INDEPENDENCE DAY came out and I was so pissed. I was convinced that they had stolen my story. But really, the story isn’t that original anyway. Looking back now, I am pretty sure that I had even stolen the idea from a documentary I had watched anyway. But yeah, I was a pissed little ten year old for a while, haha.

Q. I like my fiction weird and dark, and sometimes I like it short…so it seems this The New Flesh is made just for me. Just in case it isn’t could you tell us about it?

A. Actually, it was made just for you! The New Flesh is a blogzine that I started about a year and a half ago that specialized in publishing weird stories. When I first got brave enough to send my stories into magazines, I found that a lot of my stories were being rejected because of how weird they were. Since there weren’t really any places to publish weird flash fiction, I had to submit to the closest thing – horror flash websites and sci-fi websites. Then after the tenth or eleventh “this is too weird” letter, and knowing that I had many writer friends with this same problem, I decided to start my own website. We’ve got some killer tales, too! You should definitely check us out if weird is your thing.



Q. I enjoyed the hell out of Doom Magnetic! The high action bizarro mix of Sci-Fi Western and Violent Crime Horror makes for one of my favorite novellas of the year. And now I hear there’s a frak load more of Doom Magnetic to still be unleashed. Fill me in.

A. Thank you very much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. And yes, you’ve heard right. Doom Magnetic! and its two sequels, Doom Magnetic!! and Doom Magnetic!!!, will be released in a single volume tentatively titled, THE COMPLETE DOOM MAGNETIC! through LegumeMan books. LegumeMan had read the first book and liked it so much that they slapped me with a check for $5,000,000 [notice I said ‘slapped me with’ not ‘paid me’] to publish it and its sequels. I can’t really give away any of the plot details just yet, but you can expect more fast-paced, facked-out mayhem with your cowboy pal, Maundin, and the ever evil Qoser, the Japanese assassin with a cue-ball eye. It is going to kick your ass.

(Interviewer note: Keep your eyes turned towards Australia for this KILLER collection of awesome bizarro story!!!!)

Q. What else are you working on?

A. Right now I am crazy busy writing the Doom Magnetic! sequels, but I also have another book in the works called Demolition Ya-Ya. It’s a novel about a man who wakes up in the middle of the desert to find that he is melting. He has no memory of who he is or why he is melting, but he soon finds himself caught in a dangerous game. It is a very dark sci-fi/bizarro/horror tale that will be published by The Library of Bizarro Horror Press alongside a novel by the great Jordan Krall. I’m very excited about working with both The Library of Bizarro Horror and Jordan Krall.

I also have a book coming out VERY soon from Grindhouse Press called The Brothers Crunk – An 8-Bit Fack-It-All Adventure in 2D. If you grew up in the eighties playing Atari, SEGA, or the almighty NES, then you won’t want to miss this weird little book where the characters live in a world that uses classic video game accessories as real weapons. Look for it to hit in the next month or so.

(Interviewer Note: I can honestly say, as The Library of Bizarro Horror, that we are honored to work with both William Pauley III and Jordan Krall...this will rip faces off!)

Q. Who is your all-time favorite bad guy from movies or literature?

A. Oh man, this is a toughie. I tend to like villains much more than heroes, so I have a pretty long list of ultimate badasses. I really like The Joker. I really, really enjoyed Gary Oldman’s character in Leon, The Professional – man, he was insane! I also really like Mr. Gone from the comic book series The Maxx. He had his head cut off twice and the man still fucking owned! But my all-time favorite? Probably Darryl Revok from the movie Scanners. If anyone else can think of a more brilliant badass than Michael Ironside, then I’d love to hear it.


Q. Why does William Pauley III write bizarro fiction instead of civil war romance novels?

A. Start up The Library of Civil War Romance Press and I will get to writing.

(Interviewer Note: Maybe we'd finally get rich!)


Q. If you could pick 6 horror movies for an all night movie marathon which would they be?
A. Only 6?! Okay… off the top of my head: Tokyo Gore Police, The Brood, The Thing, Dust Devil, Microwave Massacre, and Let Me In (no, not LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. Yes, I’ve seen both versions and prefer the remake).


Q. Speaking of that what is your favorite Disney movie?

A. Tron.

(Interviewer Note: Niiiiice!)


Q. While we are on a roll how far would you make it through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory?

A. To the very end. And when Mr. Wonka gave me the factory, I’d wait until the old fart kicked the bucket, sell it and make millions.


Q. Frankenstein or the Wolfman?

A. Frankenstein. I can’t stand werewolves. Boooorrrriiiinnnggg…


Q. Water, Whiskey, or coffee?

A. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.


Q. If you could kick one super hero in the nards with no repercussions who would it be?

A. Superman, even though it would probably break my foot rather than hurt him. Fancy alien asshole.

Q. Who said, “That rug really tied the room together…did it not?”?

A. THE DUDE.

(Interviewer Note: I would have also accepted Walter Sobchek, I had to watch The Big Lebowski this morning to make sure The Dude said it too. Damn, it there goes my streak.)

Q. Any advise to aspiring writer types?

A. Don’t take advice.


Q. Quick, first name your all time favorite piece of bizarre fiction and then name drop five bizarre talents!

A. My all-time favorite piece of bizarre fiction is Mark Z. Danielewski’s HOUSE OF LEAVES. Check it out if you get the chance. Oh and I’m also nearly finished reading Jordan Krall’s BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE APOCALYPSE DONKEYS which may very well end up being my favorite bizarro book ever. It’s damn good and should be available soon. Five bizarre talents? 1) Jordan Krall, 2) Matthew Revert, 3) Garrett Cook, 4) Steve Lowe, 5) Chris Bowsman (look for his excellent debut early next year)

DEATHMATCH Question

Q. Your character Qoser from Doom Magnetic, he of the cueball eye and the ability to open the Doom Magnetic, is searching the galaxy for the man known as Maudin accompanied by a small army of the ferocious little bastards known as Mopes. Qoser follows Maudin’s scent to a Brokencyde show. Qoser and his mopes end up in the screamocrunksters dressing room. Three burley body guards surround the brightly attired rocker/clubers. Undaunted by the men Qoser does what he does and asks if they know where Maudin is. The band responds by dousing Qoser with champagne. His cueball eye ball twitches and chaos erupts. Describe the carnage and the outcome in 1,500 words

A. The Brokencyde boys giggle into their armpits as Qoser wrings out his champagne soaked kimono. He is holding the ends of thirty leather leashes in his fist, of which thirty blood-thirsty mopes are attached to, so he has to squeeze the liquid out of his dress with only one hand. The mopes tug anxiously at their leashes, their blood-stained teeth hang like daggers on the outside of their mouths.
“I’m going to ask one last time, and I suggest you answer me straight,” Qoser says, shaking the liquid from his hand. “Where. Is. Maundin?”
The boys try their best to keep from bursting into laughter, their faces turning cherry-red from not breathing. All of them that is except for Mikl, who seems lost in thought.
“You…” Qoser says, pointing at Mikl. “You know where he is, don’t you?”
Mikl looks up at Qoser and screws up his face, “What’d you say his name was again, yo?”
“Maundin.” Qoser repeats, stepping a foot closer. The mopes are now only inches away from Brokencyde. They dart their tongues out like frogs, tasting them. Saliva gathers in puddles on the floor.
Mikl closes his eyes and begins to bob his head, mumbling nonsense under his breath. “Yo, yo… check it… yo… I got a FREAKDIDDY all up in my biznazz,” Mikl sings, his voice suddenly and oddly electronic. “Askin’ for a mothafucka, ain’t nobody seen him…”
Se7en stands up and combs his frizzy dyed hair down into his face with his fingers. He begins to scream along with Mikl’s rap. “FREAKDDIDDDDDDDDYYYYY!!!!!! MOTHAFUCKAAAA!!!!!”
“Oh shit!” Mikl looks back at Se7en and playfully punches his shoulder. “We’z just wrote another muthafuckin’ song, yo! This one’s GOT to be the one that gets us dat mothafuckin’ Grammy.”
“NO DOUBT!” Se7en screams.
Qoser checks the word count. Shit, only 300. I must somehow make this last for another 1,200 words! He drops the leather leashes from his hand. The mopes rip every last inch of meat from their bones, even licking up the blood on the floor afterwards. Qoser raises his hand high in the air. The bones suddenly begin to move and levitate off the floor. Qoser whips his hand around, causing the bones to swirl together and tighten into a large ball of gore (hey, that rhymes!).
Thirty diehard Brokencyde fans stand in front of the stage, anxiously awaiting the most crunktastic band in history to come out and scream nonsense into their faces for the next two hours. The lights go out. The thirty drunk-out-of-their-fucking-skulls fans all start screaming and falling over one another. The curtains pull back, revealing a faint silhouette of something hanging over the stage. The spotlights come on and make their way over to the object – the giant ball of bloody Brokencyde bones.
The crowd is silent for nearly thirty seconds as they all stand and stare at the mess of bone. Finally, someone in the crowd screams, “GET CRUNK, MOTHAFUCKA!” And the others scream and start dancing, even though there is no music. A couple of the girls even sneak on stage and drink Brokencyde blood out of the other’s navel – the most crunkaliscious blood eva!
Qoser walks out onto the stage and grabs the microphone. “I just wanted to apologize for only doing about half of the required word count, but you can’t possibly understand how annoying these kids were. I mean, sure… I would have loved to have tortured them a bit, but that song… that fucking song put me over the top,” Qoser takes a deep breath. “So long for now… oh, and don’t forget to tip your bartender. Good night!”
A few people clap as he exits the stage, but no one listened to a single word. A few hours later, the place begins to empty out. Not a soul complained about the band not showing up for the show. Surprisingly, no one seemed to notice.

(Interviewer note: Okay, this is a great DEATCHMATCH, however, I just had to point out if Pauley would have described every character as 'drunk-out-of-their-fucking-skulls' he would have reached the word count. Don't give up kids, and use long descriptive words in catchy phrases when you need to thicken things up.)

Ladies and Gentlemen, William Pauley the III!!!!
Look, the front side of his head!

You can find Pauley all over the internet but I recommend looking for him at his blog

Grindhouse Press whom will be publishing The Brothers Crunk.

Stop by and read all the strangeness you can handle or you can sub your crazy weird stories to him at The New Flesh

Next up...Eric S. Brown!!!!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Mr. Moon's review Of Eric S. Brown's Bigfoot War



I've decided to start doing a few reviews of independent fiction books on this here Monkey Faced Demon blog. When I started the interviews I was lucky enough to have David Dunwoody, one of my favorite authors and good friends, go first. And now with the book reviews I'm starting again with someone I am a fan of and a friend to; Eric S. Brown. So without any more blah, blah...

Bigfoot War

By Eric S. Brown


As a kid my dad took us to Yellowstone National Park up to once a week during summer time. The tree covered mountains and wide beautiful fields of wildflowers are forever in my mind. Since my youth I’ve fanaticized about what lies in the shadow of those tall evergreens and what dances through the high mountain meadows in the moon light. Even with my hyper-violent over active imagination I never saw Bigfoot the way Eric S. Brown does in his new Bigfoot War. Massive thick beasts with savage claws and even more savage brute strength live in the heavily wooded area around Babble Creek, NC.
The book opens with a frantic attack that leaves a young boy named Jeff without his brother and father. Jeff tells the town what burst from the trees and slaughtered his family but he is branded crazy by the town. Jeff grows up and never looses his thirst for revenge against the hairy murderer. He shows back up in town and his sole thoughts are on destroying the massive beast that killed his family. He rounds up some help and stalks the blood thirsty beast in the surrounding forest.
Jeff gets his revenge by slaughtering the Bigfoot but at a high price. Unfortunately for the very skeptical town a tribe of the massive brutal beasts is thrown into a fury over the murder of one of their own. So begins the slaughter! From here it is all out battle as the fierce tribe of beasts tear apart the town and every inhabitant they can get their claws on. Now, I’ve been a fan of ESB since I’ve read Season of Rot and I’ve read everything he has released since. I love his style and his style shines here. When the monsters attack the tension is high and the gore sprays. Fleeting rays of hope are snuffed out with giant clawed hands.
ESB made his name with zombie tales but he proves with Bigfoot War he can write whatever his swimming mind wants to. I don’t know if the Bigfoot is one of his favorite monsters from his youth or if Babble Creek is based on his home town but Bigfoot War, while as violent as they come, has a more personal feel than most of ESB’s other works. I can’t get enough and thankfully I won’t have to because he is working on the sequel right now! I highly recommend not only Bigfoot War but anything written by Eric S. Brown.

You can order Bigfoot War here

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Mr. Moon Interviews Benjamin Rogers



Hello all! I'm very excited to bring you now a few questions with one of my brothers from The Library of the Living Dead; Benjamin Rogers! Benjamin has been working hard at spreading the world for the first novel in his trilogy, Faith and The Undead. Benjamin is also a fellow zombie fan and Pink Floyd fan that is a convention going fool. He has taken time out of his busy schedule to chat with me, so we'd better get down to it!

Q.Let’s start at the beginning. How long have you wanted to write and what were your earliest influences? Has your style changed any as you read more and more authors work?

A. Actually I don’t ever remember wanting to be an author. I wrote in High School and college but that was for assignments. It hasn’t been until the past couple years that I really took up the pen for ‘me’ and just let the words flow.

My style changes every time I read something by a different author. I pick up something new. Except Cormack McCarthy’s lack of punctuation. I can’t stand that! I guess I’m a blend of every author I’ve ever read from William W. Johnstone (The Ashes series) to Shakespeare.

(Interviewer Note: Blood Meridian is one of my favorite novels of all time and the lack of punctuation drives me crazy as well.)


Q. Your debut novel is FAITH & THE UNDEAD, part of a trilogy. How much of the story have you figured out? How long has such a big idea been in your head?

A. To be honest I have the entire story in my head. I know where everything is going and what is going to happen to each character. The big task is getting down on paper. I’m pretty sure some of the things I do are going to confuse and upset some people but I don’t write for pulp. I write because I have a story to tell and usually my tales have a definitive purpose.

The story came about after the 2009 Horror Realm in Pittsburgh. I was working on a different story at that time, but after the convention I chose a different route that led to the Trilogy of the Undead!


Q. What is keeping you busy right now?

A. Well, I’m obviously working on Book 2, CRUSADES & THE UNDEAD which is now a weekly blog post on my website at www.benjamincrogers.com. I’m also working on recording FAITH & THE UNDEAD as an audio book but that is something I have no experience with so it is taking a little time!

Of course there are the endless home improvement projects and my beautiful 18 month old daughter Mallory Jayne to keep me busy!


Q. Fast zombies or slow zombies?

A. I’m a diehard traditionalist so I lean heavily toward slow zombies. I prefer the concept of mass death moving towards you. There are plenty of other fast monsters out there!


Q. How far would you make it through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory?

A. Now that I’m diabetic I’d like to think I could make it all the way through but my guess is that I wouldn’t make it past the river of chocolate! There were so many things to choose from in there that I’d be running the other kids over!

(Interviewer Note: If I fell into a chocolate river i wouldn't come back up until I couldn't feel my arm.)

Q. Where do you see independent horror is three and a half years?

A. Honestly I really see independent horror taking over from the larger publishers in that time. There are so many great authors out there like Dunwoody, North, Moon, Long…. It is hard for me to say nothing will change. We have the LOVE that large publishers don’t!
(Interviewer Note: Hey, I know them dudes!)

Q. To what do you attribute the growing popularity of zombie fiction?

A. We had an interesting discussion at Horror Realm 2010 about the zombie being the last monster archetype. I think that people are realizing that the zombie is the closest thing to a 'true’ monster we will ever get. It could be your wife, lover, child, neighbor, or someone you don’t even know moaning on the other side of the door or pounding on it to get to your flesh! That is truly scarier than some vampire lurking outside your window!


Q. Who said, ‘I don’t roll on Shabas!’?

A. First of you crazy fool, the Jewish day of rest is spelled ‘Shabbos’! And the man who said it is Walter Sobchak from “The Big Lebowski”. One of John Goodman’s greatest roles ever!

(Interviewer Note: Way to point out my non-Jewness, Benjamin! And ten bonus points for your correct answer!)

Q. What was the first scary movie that you remember watching? Do you remember the last time you watched it?

A. Omega Man, with my Dad when I was little. We had just moved to Pittsburgh and bought a house that needed a lot of work. One Saturday it was really nasty out and Dad decided to sit down on and watch some B-grades on Superhost out of Cleveland. He called me in with him and we watched Omega Man. I watch it twice a year and am due on 11/6 since it was my Dad’s birthday!

Q. Speaking of that, if you could pick 6 horror movies for an all-night movie marathon what would they be?

A. Night of the Living Dead – Got to go old school here!
The Exorcist (original uncut) – Dude, seriously! I get to meet Linda Blair at Horror Hound next week and have no clue what I’m going to say!
Dawn of the Dead (original) – No doubt. Screw the remake!
Event Horizon – Gotta feed the sci-fi fan in me!
The Last Man on Earth – Vincent Price & a Richard Matheson story to boot! This was a no brainer for inclusion!
Omega Man – I know. Charleton Heston in an inaccurate remake of The Last Man on Earth. It has sentimental value for me!

(Interviewer Note: I am down for this marathon!)

Q. Okay, spotlight on Mr. Rogers, please….What is your all-time favorite piece of zombie fiction so far?

A. Damn, MoOn! Not an easy question to answer. If you are talking film then there is no doubt only one choice and that is Night of the Living Dead. When it comes to the written word I have to say it is Empire by David Dunwoody. Something about Empire really struck a chord in me. Something deep. It is a big inspiration behind me writing the Trilogy of the Undead. I will say that I greatly prefer independent zombie work as opposed to major publishing. I think we have more unique ideas and presentation!

(Interviewer Note: I agree, Empire is one hell of a great zombie novel!)

Q. Are there any local legends around where you live?

A. We don’t have anything major like Bigfoot, but we do have some things that are based in historical fact. We have Mansfield Penitentiary, which was a brutal prison and is purportedly quite haunted. There is also Camp Chase which was a Confederate Prisoner of War camp. It is haunted by the voices of children and a woman that is dressed in white who is supposedly looking for someone. Also this area was on the front edge of the frontier so we have a lot of ‘dead’ towns around here. You’ll find a lot of old buildings that have fallen down to rubble so there are hauntings around there. We do have a ‘plague’ cemetery. When they built all the canals through Ohio there was a rash of mysterious deaths during the construction near a small town called Lockbourne, OH. They buried all the people together to isolate the disease but there is no documentation of the cause of death. You can actually see it in the center of a cornfield now a day!


Q. Aside from zombies, what is your favorite ALL-TIME monster from film or book?

A. While not a huge fan of gore I love Pinhead from Hellraiser. There is just something about him. The stoic nature, the dark poise. He scares the crap out of me!

Q. Quick, name drop five great independent horror talents!

A. Okay MoOn, I’m going to treat this like NFL picks. Four that everyone knows and then I’m going out on a limb for my fifth!

David Dunwoody, Stephen North, TW Brown, Ben Jones, and my out on the limb pick Monique-Cherie Snyman (Keep an eye on this writer! I think she is going to go a long long way!)


DEATHMATCH QUESTION...

Q. The zombie virus is spreading across the face of the planet at an alarming rate. America is torn asunder by the gnashing teeth of an undead army. China has gone dark and black smoke billows from the devastation of its greatest cities. South America is crowded with the risen dead and even the dense forests offer no safety. Britain is the last country to fall and people are doing their best to just go on with life. Agent 007, James Bond, is as stressed as the rest of his countrymen and, like many, he seeks the calming trance a Pink Floyd show brings. Halfway through the laser show chaos erupts and zombies attack. Crew, security, and fans alike are attacked and then rise again to claim their pound of flesh. In all the chaos 007 and Pink Floyd frontman David Gilmore escape the crowd of ravenous dead and climb up into the catwalks. 007 sends Gilmore up the ladder first and for his act of heroism he receives a zombie bite on his ankle. He manages to climb the ladder but collapses at the top. David Gilmore, armed only with a day-glo green guitar, approaches the super spy but backs up when 007 snarls viciously at him with blood dripping from his open mouth. SO now, Benjamin, tell me what happens when Zombie 007 faces off with David Gilmore! You have 1,000 words to describe the carnage and the outcome!

Gilmour looked down upon the now green skinned Bond as he pulled himself across the catwalk. The wound on his ankle had festered so badly that Bond’s leg couldn’t support his weight. The Pink Floyd front man backed up slowly knowing that he had some space behind and some time to figure out what he was going to do about this current predicament.
Let’s see. I’ve thrown a concert in a Roman amphitheater in Pompeii, made beds fly, and pigs soar through the sky. With that rhymed thought, Gilmour began to strum his day-glo green Strat that he was trying out for the show. At any regular concert he would have gone for his black one but there was something special about today. Something special indeed!
“What’s wrong my dear David? Is there something amiss? I told you years ago I would control the world,” the voice behind Gilmour exclaimed.
He turned his head partway to the voice, never taking both eyes off the undead Bond that had paused his forward progress. On the giant screen over the stage, Gilmour could see a giant white Persian cat with a hand stroking the fur on its head. As the camera panned back the face that greeted the guitarist shocked him, Roger Waters.
“You stole my band, David. I’m here to take it back!”
Gilmour bristled at the accusation and began to strum the tones of a modern Floyd favorite, “Dogs of War.” He knew that Waters was always jealous of that song and that the undead were oddly terrified of the large animal. As Bond picked up with his advance towards him, the giant German Shepherds from the video came up on the huge screen and began their lope across the field.
Bond, in his extreme fear, fell shrank back from the guitarist opening a large gap between the man and zombie. Realizing his chance, Gilmour changed songs to “Pigs (three different ones)” from the Animals album. When the song starts, Gilmour knew that Algie the Fifth, would come fly across the top of the stadium right where his nemesis stood. Sure enough, from behind the stage, came Algie the large inflatable pig that had kept audiences entertained for almost thirty years.
The slight breeze gently buffeted the remote control porcine blimp as she made her way out into the open stadium. The laser show that displayed on the large screen kept Bond occupied with flashing lights as the porker made its way closer and closer until it was too late for the undead super spy. The forelock of the pig caught him in the small of the back and flipped him over the railing that the zombie had used to pull himself upright. Gilmour watched the body tumble through the air as he led into one of the songs many guitar riffs and splatter against the seat that had been set up on the stadiums floor.
“Damn it Gilmour! You bloody git! How dare you foil my plans again?” shouted the voice from the screen.
“Anytime, Roger. I warned you once and I’ll warn you again; do not mess with The Floyd!”
With that declaration the screen went dark. During his battle with the British Agent, Bond, the stadium had managed to clear out as the undead chase their living quarry out into the night air of the town. Stand atop the catwalk and looking out into the empty venue, Gilmour smirked and began to play one of his all-time favorite songs, “Comfortably Numb.” He broke into the lyrics through his wireless microphone and had a surprise.
When he asked the line, “Is there anybody out there?” a voice spoke up from the arena floor.
“I am sir!”
Gilmour looked down to see a young girl, maybe fifteen years of age standing below him amongst the strewn seats and body parts.
“Have you been bitten?”
“No sir!”
“Good! Do you know who I am?”
“You’re the lead singer of Floyd!”
“Yes, but what’s my name?”
The girl looked down at the floor and built up the courage for her reply. “I don’t know, sir!”
Gilmour stood back for a second and looked around the arena taking in the carnage, devastation and most of all Bond’s broken body not twenty feet from the teenage survivor.
“It’s Gilmour, David Gilmour. Double O Pig, Zombie Hunter!”

Nicely done!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Benjamin Rogers!



Be sure to track Benjamin down at his web site
NEXT Up- William Pauley III!!!!!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Mr. MoOn's Nightmares All Day Day (12-10-10)



It has been roughly six months since the release of Mr. Moon’s Nightmares! The Library of Horror helped make the dream of sharing a collection of my dark stories with the world come true. As my first published work it has been well received in horror circles....check the BLURB-AGE...

"I love a good nightmare, and Jonathan Moon never disappoints when he pries his head open to show us all the dark things inside."
-David Dunwoody, author of EMPIRE and UNBOUND & OTHER TALES


“Mr. Moon's Nightmares is eminently satisfying. Mr. Moon is a crafter of stories, pure and simple. He knows how to set the mood, give the right amount of ambiance, and then provides an eerie creepiness that immerses the reader in the doom and gloom of each tale.”
-Patrick D'Orazio, author of COMES THE DARK


"Jonathan Moon's writing grips you with a breathless mix of terror, beauty, and creepiness that is hard to resist."-- Lori Titus, author of GREEN WATER LULLABY and LAZARUS.


“Jonathan Moon weaves stories in fine detail, with a style that ensnares the reader and then scares the living snot of them in straight-shooting, out-and-out, blood and guts staccato. Ride with him and whoop your way to hell.” --Kevin Shamel, author of ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS


“Jonathan Moon pulls the sinister from the seemingly innocent. Like a sadistic surgeon of words, Moon takes horror to a new level, slowly slicing our piece of mind until there is nothing left but our raw fear. He’s the only guy I know who can turn ladybugs into harbingers of violent terror. His tales are poetic, dark, and oddly beautiful.” –Jordan Krall, author of SQUID PULP BLUES and FISTFUL OF FEET

So, if all these killer writers enjoy Mr. Moon's Nightmares you are bound to as well. I feel I've put together a great collection of fine horrorcore for horror fiends such as yourself.

I, being the god of my world, have deemed December 10, 2010 Mr. Moon’s Nightmares All Day Day! On this brisk December day I want to take a chunk out of the horror market and shake it for the world! ‘How can I help this half deranged writer so he leaves me be?’ you may be asking yourself. Well, this half deranged writer wrote out a list of ways for you!



1. Buy Mr. Moon’s Nightmares! If you haven’t yet, on December 10, 2010 go to

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Moons-Nightmares-Jonathan-Moon/dp/1451577249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287516260&sr=1-1"

I want to see that sales rank jump! More sales means more advertising and I want to hop on that train! Now, maybe you already own a copy of this masterful collection of terror but perhaps you have friends that would enjoy a copy under their Christmas tree! I’m planning the event so all books ordered will be delivered in time for Christmas!



2. Give Mr. Moon’s Nightmares a review on Amazon! Go to http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Moons-Nightmares-Jonathan-Moon/product-reviews/1451577249/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1"

and tell the world how scary and beautiful Mr. Moon’s Nightmares is.





3. Blog about it! If you have a blog you could help my cause by reviewing Mr. Moon’s Nightmares, promoting Mr. Moon’s Nightmares All Day Day, or even, for the boldest amongst you interview me! If you do wish to review Mr. Moon’s Nightmares for your blog I’ll shoot ya off a PDF copy!



4. Join the the facebook event page for Mr. Moon’s Nightmares All Day Day. Hang out while I spin mad promos and ramble on and on and on. Tell your friends so we can all be FRIENDS together.
http://http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=170572399623444"


Any way you can help is greatly appreciated!

As an added bonus I’ll be posting up different things all day on 12-10-10 like my favorite music videos, favorite quotes, and profanity laced alcohol fueled reviews of my favorite books and movies! I’ll be giving away a few MP3s of me reading a select few stories from Mr. Moon’s Nightmares.

I plan on interviewing MYSELF, with questions you can send me to be answered, at my Monkey Faced Demon blog!

As a special added bonus I will be giving away some of my favorite independent books of the year! I plan on giving away a pack of nine books including titles by David Dunwoody, ESB, Jordan Krall, Tim Long, Kevin Shamel, and Carlton Mellick III! For EVERY copy of Mr. Moon’s Nightmares bought I will put your name in a drawing. If you order Mr. Moon’s Nightmares and the forthcoming Houdini Gut Punch I’ll enter you three times in the drawing!



Only a month and a half away dear friends but I feel ready. Thank you for reading and thank you for being there. Join me on December 10, 2010 to celebrate great independent horrorcore with Mr. Moon’s Nightmares All Day Day!



Thank you all for helping me make my dreams come true!!!!



Jonathan MoOn