Happy Holidays!!!

I'd like to take a moment to wish all my readers the happiest of holidays and for a safe transition into the new year. If you're looking for a last minute gift for a reader, may I suggest ordering a copy of Spooky Showcase, my latest short story/novella collection from your favorite online retailer? The book is available on Amazon worldwide, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, and many other independent online bookstores. You can also buy an e-book version of it on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. I will see you all in 2013.

Spooky Showcase

October's my favorite month of the year and I've got a huge announcement for you. My latest book, Spooky Showcase, which is my second collection of short stories and novellas will be published on or around November 9th. It will feature a brand new novella titled The Paradigm and a revamped previously unpublished short story from 2006 titled "A Madman's Atonement". Here's what'll be in the 344 page book: The Paradigm, "Beyond the Doomed Cave", "The Rattling Man", "A Madman's Atonement", Vengeance is Mine. I've posted the full wraparound cover art below.

Fan Expo: It’s a kind of magic…

First and foremost, I’d like to express a huge heartfelt THANK YOU to all the convention goers who spent their hard earned cash on my books. You helped make this convention a success. I will remember this convention for the rest of my life as it kept getting bigger and bigger with every passing day.

The four-day event took place in Toronto, a city six hours away from my hometown of Montreal. I’d never been to Toronto before and I had certain apprehensions; I hate travelling long distance and I was wondering if I’d sell enough books to justify spending a ton of money on a table, hotel, transportation, and all the other related expenses. By the time Sunday afternoon came around, I had sold all my boxes of books, all my e-book CDs and had run out of postcards with my fan page, blog and publisher info. I was a rock star, baby!

The first day started a little slow; CD sales were good but book sales were few and far between as most people said they only looked on the first day and bought during the following days. What brightened my day was that I made a surprise appearance on a panel on indie publishing monitored by Monica Kuebler from Rue Morgue. Apparently, she had put me up for it a while ago but no one from Fan Expo had bothered to let me know about it. It was even listed in the con program that I was doing a panel. I had a great time there and I got to spread the word about my books and what I was doing. A bunch of people came and bought books from me afterwards.

Day two, Friday, is when things really started rolling. I sold lots of books and sold out all the CDs I had brought along containing PDFs of my three books. When five o’clock chimed, it was time to get my picture taken with my idol John Carpenter. Those who know me understand how much this meant to me; his film Halloween is the reason why I started writing horror books. I inscribed and signed a copy of Fractured Time, my latest novel, to him and gave him the copy as we shook hands for the photo op. “Give it to my agent, she’ll make sure I get it,” he said with a smile. And then the flash of the camera immortalized this moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I was in the presence of this legendary director that had inspired me with his tales on film such as Halloween, The Fog, The Thing, Big Trouble of Little China and a dozen other classics, and hoping some of his magic would rub off on me. Apparently it did because from that moment on, I was unstoppable. I look at that picture now and it still feels a little surreal. I’m gonna get it framed in the days to come. After the con, my girlfriend, her daughter and I headed to Luma Restaurant on King Street to celebrate the weekend and my girlfriend’s belated birthday; it was a memorable evening in every respect.

Saturday is when sales went through the roof. I stood all day and pitched high concept one liners about my books and sold to anyone that listened. By the end of the day, Bitternest, my first novel, and The Bitternest Chronicles, my short story collection, were sold out. I was also interviewed by The Avod.com, a cool podcast which should have my interview up by Wednesday.

The fourth and final day, Sunday, arrived with a vengeance. All I had left was lots of copies of my second novel, Fractured Time, and it had been harder to sell this one as a lot of folks were telling me they were a little tired of time travel stories. Nevertheless, I stood and proclaimed that it was a must have book (it really is, I promise you) and that everyone needed to have it in their collection. The first sale came at 10:25 and I never spent more than fifteen minutes without selling a copy after that, oftentimes selling two to three copies in the span of fifteen minutes. By 3:15 PM, my table was all empty and I had accomplished something I had never done before: I was going back home empty handed. Some of the artists in Artist Alley came to shake hands with me and congratulate me on the feat I’d accomplished as they will tell you; it’s not an easy task to sell books when the competition is this fierce, with hundreds of artists and major retailers vying for the con goers’ spending money. To top it all off, a movie producer came to see me and we discussed my next novel, Nocturnal Offerings, and how it might make a cool film.

By 3:40 PM, Alan Draven had left the building. I wound up having to wait two hours for my bus at the terminal but I didn't care. My sweetie came to pick me up at the Montreal bus terminal at 12:45 AM. Fan Expo turned out to be a four-day weekend that went beyond all my highest expectations. I came, I saw, and I conquered. And I will do it again. I’ll go back to Fan Expo in three years but until then, I will be at the Ottawa Comiccon in May 2013 and at the Montreal Comiccon in September 2013. I will see you all really soon. Until then, enjoy my books, and stay safe!!!

Long overdue update!!!

It's been almost five months since my last update. Lots of things to talk about. First off, it is with chagrin that I officially announce that my first novel, Bitternest, will be going out of print within the next 30 days. Get it while you can at your favorite online retailer. The book was in print for almost five and a half years and received stellar reviews all around upon its release in April 2007. I am still very proud of it. You can purchase a print or Kindle copy here on Amazon.

Second, I finished the second draft of my third novel, Nocturnal Offerings, a couple of weeks ago. My editor is going over it then I will have a go at it for another round of edits and off to my publisher it will go. Hopefully, the book will be out for the summer of 2013. It's a book in two parts where the first part takes place in Montreal inside a creepy gated community, and the second part takes place in Bitternest and involves a serial killer who's been around for over a hundred years. The protagonist of the novel is Nick Kubrick, a radio DJ with a horror show. He made his first appearance in the short story "The Chilling Hour" which can be found in The Bitternest Chronicles.

Third, I have just begun work on a novella titled The Paradigm which will be included in my upcoming short story/novella collection titled Spooky Showcase set to be released sometime in November later this year through Pixie Dust Press. It will be another collection similar to The Bitternest Chronicles with new and previously published material. It will contain two novellas and three short stories. The following stories will be included: 

• The Paradigm 
• Beyond the Doomed Cave 
• The Rattling Man 
• A Madman's Atonement 
• Vengeance is Mine

Fourth, the publisher of Fractured Time, Black Bed Sheet Books, has set up a really cool forum for readers to follow their favorite authors. You can start a thread and discuss horror books or ask questions in the specific thread dedicated to an author in particular. It's a great way to interact with the community. So head over there and post something if ever you want to know something about me or one of my books. It takes a few minutes to register and you're set. Just scroll down to the middle of the page until you see the authors' names. Here's the link to the BBSB Global Community.

And last but not least, I will be in Toronto from August 23rd to 26th at Fan Expo at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Artist Alley to sign copies of my two novels and my collection (Fractured Time, Bitternest, The Bitternest Chronicles). So if you're in the area, drop by and say hi. There will be many guests over the weekend including John Carpenter, Stan Lee, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Lloyd, William Shatner, Lou Ferrigno, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Tapping, James Marsters and many more. You can find ticket info and all you need to know at their official Website.

Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear at Fan Expo 2012

Greetings all! It's now official; I will have a table at Fan Expo on August 23-24-25-26 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I'll be signing copies of my three books: Bitternest, Fractured Time, and The Bitternest Chronicles. They are expecting 80,000 people this year. The famous con has five sections: Horror (Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Gaming, Comic Books, and Anime. There are already a handful of guests announced and many more to come. For all the details, visit the official website: http://www.fanexpocanada.com/ So buy yourself a pass and stop by Artist Alley to pick up a signed copy of your favorite book from yours truly! I'll have more details closer to the weekend of the con....