Reminder...and is it all gloom and doom?

Just a reminder...if you haven't signed up for my exclusive letter, please do so here.

The first issue of the newly revamped newsletter will be distributed Monday, March 2, and will contain a rare reprinting of an old Diary of a Madman column from 1998! Future issues will contain more rare non-fiction and short story appearances, as well as exclusive excerpts from forthcoming novels. Don't delay! Subscribe today! And best of all, it's free!

The newsletter will also be the place where news of forthcoming book and magazines appearances will first appear. I hope to share future publication news with you in the next month or so.

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As for what's going on in my world, I now no longer watch the evening or the morning news. I can't anymore. Too depressing, with all this talk of economic woes. Of course, the news organizations will continue to hype the downturn of the economy and the recession and scream in a Chicken Little-like voice that we could be heading for even More! Perilious! Times! All this serves to do is make people even more nervous and afraid for the future. People stop spending money. Businesses lose income from the belt-tightening and begin laying off staff. The downward spiral continues.

I don't deny that we're in a recession, but if things are as bad as the media is making it out to be, they're not living in my town. When I drive down Route 30 in Lancaster, PA, the shopping mall parking lot is filled with cars. A few weeks ago I stopped at a Borders Bookstore to buy a gift and the place was packed. The pet store I buy animal food is always crowded. Everywhere I go, people are shopping in a way one would think is normal.

True, I've found it harder to find freelance work since 2009 began. Work for Gonzo CS has dried up, despite beating the bushes among my contacts and clients, as well as places like Elance (although I have my doubts on that place...that might be worth a separate blog posting). However, the offer from publishers to write new novellas and novels has increased. It's not enough at this point to be out of the woods, hence the need to continue beating the bushes for technical writing and web design/desktop publishing and ghostwriting work, but its very promising. It makes me wonder about the real state of the US economy. If small press publishers are still eager to contract for and pay for new material, logic dictates people are still buying their products, yes? True, some are being cautious, and NY publishers have slashed jobs and frozen salaries at an alarming rate. But books are still being published. Comic books are still being produced and read. Movies are still being made. It can't be all doom and gloom.

What do you think?

JFG

Exclusive Content

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am ressurecting my Yahoo Groups newsletter. This will be the place to receive late-breaking news on upcoming novel and short story releases, as well as book-signing appearances. The newsletter will also be the source where you will find exclusive content that you won't find on the blog, such as reprints of rare non-fiction pieces, the occasional rare short story, and excerpts and sneak peeks of upcoming novels...including Primitive and The Corporation! So don't delay...click here to sign up now!

The first issue of the ressurected newsletter will be released next week and it will contain a rare reprint -- an installment from my old Diary of a Madman column from the late Frightnet magazine. Re-reading the piece brought back memories, and was amusing in its own way. The installment covers the (what was then) the death-rattle of horror fiction as a literary form, the emergence of "Extreme Horror", and my thoughts on the psychological thriller. It was a nice trip down memory lane. You don't want to miss it.

The blog will continue to focus on original material as well. Stay tuned!

JFG

Message Board & Social Networking Update

I have a new message board. You have to register to post messages and participate in discussions, but I encourage you to do so. You can access it here.

The board is hosted by Brian Keene's official board. In addition to moi, Brian has graciously created message boards for several of my colleagues including James A. Moore, Wrath James White, John Skipp, Kelli Dunlap, Bob Ford, and a host of others.

My message board on Horror-Web is still active. I hardly visit it these days due to it not receiving much traffic, but I do pop in from time to time.

So please...navigate to the new message board and make yourself at home!

I also have a site at a new social networking site that was created for fans of horror films/books. The site is called The Haunt, and my page can be found here. This site is like facebook; if you don't have an account, you can't view my site. If you're already on the Haunt, please send me a friend invite. Otherwise, join up if you're a fan!

Those of you who check the myspace page may have noticed the twitter feed I have embedded in my page. If you are on twitter, you are welcome to follow my daily rantings.

If you aren't a member of my newsletter, you should be. I am revamping it this year, and plan to bring exclusive updates, news, and other material you won't find elsewhere, including rare reprints of old, obscure fiction, non-fiction, and upcoming novel excerpts. The newsletter will be the only venue you can read this material, so sign up now here.

That's it for now. Until later, stay safe.

JFG





JFG

Things on the Horizon

A few weeks ago, I shared with you all recent short story appearances, as well as the next few novel releases. This time I want to reveal what I'm currently working on that is contracted for, as well as some other events that have taken place.

I am putting the finishing touches on a new novel called Back From the Dead. If you enjoy the works of Richard Laymon, you'll probably dig this one. It has zombies, black magic, snobby rich suburban kids who like to go on wilding sprees, and a persecuted high school kid whom everybody in town believes is responsible for every social ill in town. In short, it's fast-paced and horrific. No word yet on publication date yet, but I plan to turn it in to my editor in the next month.

I've contracted with Sideshow Press to write a novella that is slated for publication later this year. While the novella currently does not have a title, I can tell you it takes place over the course of one evening, two days before Christmas, during a ferocious blizzard in the high Sierra's, and it concerns a group of people, all friends, who are forced to spend the evening snowed-in the neighborhood watering hole with a stranger who may or may not have supernatural origins. Details on title, price, and availability will be forthcoming.

I'm also closing in on a deal for second novella, with a publisher that will remain anonymous for now. Fortunately, this one does have a title: Do Unto Others. Think the central theme of Survivor (my novel) meets The Omen. Again, more details as they become available.

I've mentioned Clickers III in the last blog entry, and that will be my main focus when it comes to novels this year. I do have a synopsis for a novel I'm dying to write. Retreat will be a psychological suspense novel set in a high-end country-club resort...and that's about all I'll go on record for at this time. If the writing of Retreat goes well, two of the characters will return as recurring (and main) characters in future books, including a novel that will provide somewhat of a sequel to Survivor and Fetish (but will be very much a stand-alone novel). More books are planned in this open-ended series. Needless to say, I'm excited about it and can't wait to start it.

But I might not get to for awhile.

The economy has hit everybody hard. You, me, and especially publishers. Many publishers are cutting their lines. Aquisitions are frozen at some houses. The recession has hit my publishers and there is no guarantee Retreat will be sold. In a perfect world, I could sell Retreat on a synopsis and the first few chapters. But this is not a perfect world. This is 2009, and the economy has tanked. Therefore, Retreat will have to be written on spec, during times stolen between paying projects.

When it comes to paying projects, those are becoming far and few between lately, too.

I've always been apprehensive about revealing too much about my personal life for privacy reasons. However, recent events dictate it's time to be a bit more forthcoming about certain things.

In addition to writing novels, short stories, and screenplays, I also design websites and write technical manuals for a living. I've always kept this part of my life seperate from the fiction writing part for a variety of reasons--fear of alientating a potential client or employer who might take offense or have moral objections to my life as a novelist (this has never happened to me, but it did happen to a writer friend of mine, Marc Paoletti). But now the time has come to throw those apprehensions aside.

Gonzo Creative Solutions is a one man outfit, created by me, and was relatively successful until the latest economic downturn. In addition to web design and development, I also offer desktop publishing, technical/business writing, and editing services. I've also ghostwritten a couple of books for clients (Chinese water torture won't be enough to reveal titles and the authors I ghosted them for; that's why it's called ghostwriting). In short, I love the work, and it provides a nice balance to my workday.

Business has been very slow lately. And in an attempt to stay afloat, I need to ask all of you: if you know of anybody that needs work on a website, have them get in touch with me. Likewise, if you are a small press publisher and are in need of having a book typeset, or a cover laid out, I can help. If you're starting a small business and need web content or ad copy written, let me know. I am affordable, flexible, and best of all, I'm great at what I do.

2009 is shaping up to be a good year despite the gloomy outlook of the economy. There's a lot of things I would like to do this year; compile a collection of my non-fiction for publication (would you guys shell out money to read a collection of my blog essays and some old, obscure stuff like my columns from the late Afraid Magazine?); write a serial novel for my newsletter members; write a graphic novel based on Clickers (something Brian Keene and I have talked about). So many goals, such unstable times. But we'll get through this, won't we?

There are good things in store for this year. More will be revealed very soon. In the meantime, thank you all for your support.

JFG