Popular blogger Johnny B. Truant and self publishing “Kings of the Serial” Sean Platt and David Wright have launched a podcast aimed at educating writers on how to self-publish in the “new frontier” of digital publishing.

Self publishing is accessible to everyone, and the podcast helps savvy, hard-working writers learn how they can make full-time livings from fiction to nonfiction – something that was close to impossible before the eBook age.

“Digital publishing, through Kindle and other e-formats, hasn’t just revolutionized self publishing; it’s revolutionized all publishing,” said Truant. “Even established authors are now turning to this model and away from old-school publishing deals. And why not? Traditional publishers pay authors around 15% of a book’s sale price and hardly do any publicity, widespread distribution, or marketing for anyone other than their blockbuster clients. If those publishers are really only adding overhead, why not do it yourself? Why not build your own audience, spread the word yourself through the tools available on the Internet, and make 70% royalties while retaining total creative control?”

The trio launched the new podcast, located at SelfPublishingPodcast.com, in mid April. Born from a desire to help others achieve the success they were achieving themselves, Wright, Platt, and Truant decided a weekly podcast packed with advice, best practices, and interviews with experts would help others avoid the trial and error they’d had when publishing their own work – primarily on Amazon’s Kindle e-Book platform, but also on others like Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store and the Kobo platform, which is popular in Europe.

“Self-publishing used to be expensive and ineffective, but also relatively straightforward,” said Wright. “You paid someone to publish your books, you stored them in your garage, and then you traveled around and tried to sell them. It’s completely different today. The best platforms are digital. Anyone can publish with very little out-of-pocket expense and be exposed instantly to millions of potential buyers. But now it’s trickier too, and you’ll never sell to those millions if you don’t put the pieces together correctly.”

The Self Publishing Podcast, which publishes new episodes every Thursday, covers topics such as how to get started, how to make a compelling book cover, how to market your book, writing and editing tips, how to format for different platforms, and much more. It’s peppered with Truant, Wright and Platt’s trademark wit and friendly camaraderie. It’s available on the iTunes, Blackberry and Zune podcast directory, as well as non-subscription play through the website at SelfPublishingPodcast.com.

Johnny B. Truant has a large readership on his blog at JohnnyBTruant.com and writes regularly for 100,000+ subscriber blogs like Copyblogger.com and Problogger.com. Platt also writes for the same blogs, and is founder of The Digital Writer. Both are known as marketing experts in the blogging niche. Professional cartoonist and blogger Wright rounds out the podcast’s hosts.

Wright and Platt self-publish several books each week through their publishing companies Collective Inkwell and Sterling & Stone, including their own extremely popular post-apocalyptic horror serial Yesterday’s Gone, which is one of the Top 100 Reviewed Amazon Fiction Titles of all time. Truant’s humor novel The Bialy Pimps debuted in a splash through blog publicity in February. He’s also the author of the Epic Series, a series of personal development and human potential essays that hit #3 on the Amazon free list for Entrepreneurship.

“This is a brave new frontier,” said Platt. “The good news is that any good writer can now make a full-time living purely as a writer, but you must first nderstand how to make it work in order for that to happen. That’s why we started this podcast – to help writers understand, and to finally realize their dreams of publication.”

While Guillermo Del Toro fans are excited about the director’s upcoming monster movie Pacific Rim, they are still mourning the demise of At The Mountains Of Madness. A passion project for the helmer, the H.P. Lovecraft adaptation was kiboshed by Universal last spring, likely due to the high pricetag (said to be in the neighborhood of $150 million) and Del Toro’s insistence on an R rating, something that would have made the financial profitability of the movie a tough sell, even with Tom Cruise attached to star.

Neil Marshall, the noted horror filmmaker behind The Descent, is attached to direct the long-gestating The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which is being set up at Millennium Films.

Looking for some warm weather reading? Then look no further than Indie Comics Magazine’s Summer Issue, which will include Joe Sergi’s The Zombie War of 1812 along with seven other complete stories. It’s the American Revolution. General Harrison’s Brigade has joined with British forces to battle an unexpected force: undead soldiers gather near Lexington.

Adapting books into films is big business for studios, and this week two of the authors who are considered the cream of the genre crop will be seeing their written work turned into full features on the silver screen. First, author Stephen King is set to have his story “The Reach” turned into a feature by British financer Park Entertainment, who will be producing alongside DownEast Village Productions. Meanwhile, MGM is hoping Ray Bradbury’s From The Dust Returned will be a success. Dust is a collection of short stories focusing on a seemingly average boy named Timothy who is adopted into a family of monsters.

Veteran producer Edward R. Pressman has optioned the rights; Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is set to direct the horror thriller. Veteran producer Edward R. Pressman has optioned the rights to Archaia Entertainment’s graphic novel Feeding Ground.

Back in 2009, Stephen King revealed that he was working on “Doctor Sleep,” a sequel to his The Shining novel, which was eventually turned into a horror film by Stanley Kubrick. The book is set to hit stands on January 15th, 2013 and a film may follow soon after. For now though, you can catch the official synopsis here.

Kino Lorber of Redemption Films has restored a series of Jean Rollin’s notable films, including three due on May 29: His 1968 debut, The Rape of the Vampire; 1973′s Requiem for a Vampire; and the most arresting of the three, Demoniacs, about two ghostly women who try to persuade the devil to kill a gang of rapists.

With the upcoming release of the creepy Hammer film The Woman in Black on DVD May 22nd, Dread Central thought it would be a good time to look back at some of their favorite frightening women from horror films of the past. Believe me; these aren’t your average scream queens. These women bite back … hard! Horror’s Top 10 Most Frightening Women

The Image Comics horror noir series Fatale debuted in January 2012 and swiftly became acclaimed creators Ed Brubaker’s and Sean Phillips’ best-selling collaboration to date. Its first story arc, contained in issues #1-5, is being collected into a trade paperback, Fatale: Death Chases Me, to be published by Image this June.

Based on Emile Zola’s sensational novel, Therese Raquin, Therese is set to film in Belgrade, Serbia and Budapest, Hungary. Elizabeth Olsen stars in the 1860s Paris-set thriller as the titular character, a beautiful but sexually repressed young woman trapped in a loveless marriage with Camille (Felton), her sickly cousin.

Twenty years after high-school graduation, if anyone has become famous or infamous, odds are it isn’t the star quarterback. So maybe it was almost predictable that Jeffrey Dahmer — one of the oddest of oddballs in the late 1970s at Revere High School in Richfield, Ohio — would go on to infamy. Still, as Cleveland artist Derf articulates in his skillful graphic novel, My Friend Dahmer, no one ever really expects a classmate, however weird, to become a serial killer with a human head in the fridge.

The Devil’s Rock director Paul Campion’s adaptation of US horror author Brian Keene’s novel Dark Hollow took another step toward the big screen by being hand-picked as one of only 14 films selected projects for Frontières: The 2012 Fantasia Film Festival Co-Production Market.

Another Burton/Depp collaboration is already said to be in the works. Rumor has it that the boys will recreate the famous Vincent Price villain, Dr. Phibes. All horror fans recall 1971′s The Abominable Dr. Phibes, with Price as a mad doctor set on avenging the death of his wife. It was one of the late actor’s most beloved characterizations. (He reprised the role a year later in Dr. Phibes Rises Again.)

Madison County may not be the most original horror movie but it certainly gets the job done. That is to say that writer/director Eric England borrows (and by “borrows,” I really mean “snatches up and holds onto for dear life as if it were its own like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings”) each and every one of his motion picture’s elements from other horror flicks. Fortunately, that does not prevent his project from scaring the living daylights out of viewers. Read the full review…

The world of books has been roaring its terrible roars in tribute to the much-loved Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak, who died this week at the age of 83. Accolades poured in for the American writer and illustrator, winner of children’s books’ most prestigious awards, from the Caldecott medal to the Astrid Lindgren memorial award.

Strange Amusements has a candid discussion with horror author Carrie Green about her work, some advice for up and coming writers, and honest discussion about horror fiction and the future of marketing and publishing.

Under a Vampire Moon is the 16th installment of Lynsay Sands’ Argeneau/Rogue Hunter series. Yes, 16th. If the series were a person, it could drive. And it does kind of drive … readers to distraction when they should be doing other things. Joyce Lamb interviews Lynsay Sands for USA TODAY.

It’s not lightning and a sweet mad-scientist setup that’s again giving life to Frankenstein’s monster. It’s the friendship of two horror gurus, writer Steve Niles and artist Bernie Wrightson. Their new 12-issue IDW miniseries Frankenstein Alive, Alive! continues the story of the famous monster from the end of Mary Shelley’s classic 1818 novel — or, more fittingly, from Wrightson’s seminal 1983 illustrated adaptation.

Gregory Lamberson is the author of five published horror novels and one nonfiction book on independent filmmaking. A two-time winner of the IPPY Gold Medal for Horror for his novels Johnny Gruesome and Personal Demons, and a three-time Bram Stoker Award finalist, he has three books scheduled for 2012: his zombie novella Carnage Road, from Creeping Hemlock Press; The Frenzy War, Book Two in his werewolf series “The Frenzy Cycle” from Medallion Press; and Tortured Spirits, Book Four in his occult detective series “The Jake Helman Files,” also from Medallion. Tracee Gleichner interviews Lamberson for Examiner.com.

The Day of the Dead Charity Screening, presented by East Coast Horror Group and Horror Realm for the benefit of Scares That Care, tales place Saturday, May 12th at the Hollywood Theater – 1449 Potomac Avenue, Dormont (Pittsburgh, PA). Tickets are $10 at the door.

Schedule of Events

6 PM – I Walked with a Zombie: Zombies and humans may visit Eljay’s Books in Dormont to enjoy 20% off horror titles all day. Pose for photos in the store then follow the staff in a zombie crawl from Eljay’s to the theater.

6:30 PM – Doors open at the Hollywood

7:00 PM – Meet & greet and autographs: Cast and crew of George A. Romero’s 1985 zombie classic Day of the Dead will be on hand to meet fans and sign autographs, and they will be generously donating a portion of the proceeds benefitting Scares That Care. Meet:

• John Amplas
• Lori Cardille
• Antone DiLeo
• Michael Gornick
• Mark Tierno

Silent auction opens for bidding

Scaricatures by Ed Quillin

8:00 PM – Day of the Dead screening: Grab your popcorn and head into one of the last surviving single screen theaters in the Pittsburgh area which also features a balcony!

10:00 PM – Q&A with cast & crew: Moderated by Michael Exler and Drew Seidler of East Coast Horror Group

Silent Auction winners announced after Q&A session

And finally an after party at Cain’s Saloon – 3239 West Liberty Avenue.

For more information: info@horrorrealmcon.com

Horror’s favorite demon barber has returned to the environs of Fleet Street: His razor is finely sharpened and ready; the glint in his eyes decidedly mad. Welcome back to London, Sweeney Todd. Reveling in insane glory at the Adelphi Theatre, the sinister shaver is singing his heart out while cutting many a throat. Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece is brilliantly staged in this production, bolstered by two incredible performances: Michael Ball as Sweeney, and Imelda Staunton as amoral pie-maker, Mrs. Lovett. Forget the others who have previously played the parts. Wipe away the Tim Burton film starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter; even let go of Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury who created the roles on Broadway. Ball and Staunton blow them out of the water.

This revival of the show is set in the 1930s, rather than in the Victorian Age. The famous screeching factory whistle, inaugurated in the Cariou-Lansbury incarnation, works for either period. Its scream is an exclamation point, punctuating the harshness of either/both eras. What initially looks like English fog, in this version, later is perceived as air pollution. The murky filtered lighting reflects the prevailing ethical contamination. Sweeney is a wronged man hungry for revenge, and his alliance with unethical-yet-resourceful business woman Mrs. Lovett is a union of common needs. There is, however, a kink in their relationship. Mrs. Lovett is enamored of Todd, but the feelings aren’t reciprocated. When they become business partners, she cooking up the flesh of his victims to unknowing, but enthusiastic, diners, the delusional woman conjures up romantic scenarios with “happy” endings. The amazing chemistry between Ball and Staunton is perhaps the show’s greatest strength, yet both actors deliver unique takes on their respective roles, and do marvelous interpretations of the songs.

Imelda Staunton embodies the complexities of a loopy, smitten, crafty, and strangely maternal woman. She embraces the character’s lusty love for Sweeney, even though he still carries a torch for his lost wife. Ball brings his own heat and fever to the title character. When reunited with his cutting blade and declares his arm “complete,” one gets the sensation that another part of the anatomy is also feeling most satisfied.

In general the cast is excellent, the only weaknesses are the performers playing the young lovers Anthony and Johanna. Luke Brady as Anthony loses command of the beautiful ballad “Johanna,” and seems oblivious to the malevolence surrounding his beloved. Lucy May Barker, as the object of his desire, has an unappealing voice that strains and distracts.

Aside from those criticisms, the show is stellar; engaging the audience from the outset as the ensemble assembles on stage while audience members are taking their seats. There is in-character chatting among the performers while the theatre-goers settle in and get their attention drawn to the stage; the scene is set in a sort of interactive way.

It is always grand to “attend the tale of Sweeney Todd,” and this fabulous production of it is the stuff of legend.

Sheila M. Merritt, reporting from London.

Ms. Donna L. Quesinberry, CEO-President of DonnaInk Publications has announced a successful negotiation in signing author Sean Adkins and his new title, Wolfen: Bloodlines.

Ms. Quesinberry states, “The Book Nook is pleased to present an emergent horror writer who delves into the world of werewolves. Sean, an artist by nature, is a talented tattooist turned author. He spins an evocative journey into a world where inner beasts are allowed to surface for all who dare to venture into their world. Advanced readers are in awe – asking when they can receive a final print copy and when is his next title being released? A true author, Sean is working on the sequel now. At the Book Nook we are impressed believing horror genre readers and “others” are in for a treat this year. So, with a dose of excitement – the Book Nook says . . Welcome Sean Adkins to the DonnaInk Publications Book Nook, thank you for joining our select authors and titles…”

About the author: Sean Adkins was born in Maryland in 1974 to the P.G. County Goat Man and Sasquatch. He was eventually found under Cry Baby Bridge, in Upper Marlboro Md.,where his new parents raised him from that point forward. An early incident when he was younger changed his perceptions on books and since that time he has became an avid reader. He has always been a fan of Monster/Horror movies, with a leaning towards the monsters. During the late 1970′s, he started watching “Creature Feature,” hosted by famous horror host Count Gore De Vol. This would bring Sean further into the realm of his roots. After spending five years in law enforcement, he knew that this was not the career path for him, but the one great thing that came from it was the beginning of the Shape-Shift Series. He left law enforcement in the fall of 2007 and entered the tattooing becoming a tattoo artist by the end of that year.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) was an American writer of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the sub-genre titled weird fiction. Universally regarded as the father of modern horror, he was a sickly child whose traveling salesman father became psychotic and had to be committed to an institution where he died about five years later. Now, prolific Perthshire author Geoff Holder has won a coveted international award with his biographical take on US cult horror writer H.P. Lovecraft.

China Mieville is an odd writer. He’s usually lumped into the science fiction/fantasy category, but he’s really more of a cross-genre artist. A little science fiction element here, a bit of horror there, perhaps a dash of deadpan satire or maybe a little pulp detective. Now he’s making his DC debut with Dial H For Hero.

Through an innovative collaboration with Tugg, Inc., a collective action web-platform that enables individuals to choose the films that play in their local theaters, fans can sign up today at www.Tugg.com/TheLovedOnes to book a screening and invite friends to see one of the most buzzed about horror films of the summer.

Zombies in Canal Walk shopping centre? Humanity eking out its existence in fenced-off enclaves? You’ve got to be kidding, right? But that’s the dystopian vision mother-and-daughter writing team Sarah and Savannah Lotz shared when they wrote Deadlands, a young adult novel set in Cape Town 10 years after the zombiepocalypse hits the city.

Author Dave Morris has reworked Mary Shelley’s gothic horror novel, Frankenstein, for iOS. Frankenstein, for iPad and iPhone was designed and developed for iOS by Inkle and published by London-based independent publisher, Profile Books.

Perhaps film-makers should start taking note from the classics of the genre; Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby. If The Woman in Black isn’t example enough of the excellent book-turned-play-turned-film then look at these mighty monsters of the horror film genre. They’re stomach-wrenching, nail-biting, heart-pounding and book-based. These are some classic horror books which need film adaptations.

There are plenty of respected genre authors who tackle tie-in product with the same care and creativity they pour into their own original works. Tim Lebbon is just such an author, an accomplished horror and dark fantasy writer who’s now been tapped twice to novelize a popular movie. This time he was tasked with the job of turning The Cabin in the Woods into a compelling novel, and, just as before, he’s proven to be up to the task.

Anne Rice, celebrated author of over 25 novels, including her latest, “The Wolf Gift”, which marks her triumphant return to modern gothic horror, battles trolls on Facebook. Using foul language, name calling and general negativity, these “trolls” have targeted Anne’s page and in doing so, attacked many of it’s visitors.

Matt Cloude’s goal for some time has been to remake the horror classic Night of the Living Dead, a 1968 independent black and white cult classic directed by George Romero. The film starred Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea and Karl Hardman. After years of trials and tribulations the filming is set to begin Aug. 24 in both Luray and Pennsylvania. Not only is Cloude excited about the opportunity to remake the film of his dreams, but he has assembled an all-star lineup of genre stars to fill roles.

The always-busy Guillermo del Toro is setting up yet another project he’ll act as a producer on. The script is based on the very real story of the Bender family, who ran an inn on the outskirts of Kansas’s prairie lands in 1873. In the same vein as Hitchcock’s Psycho (long before it ever existed), many travelers checked into the Bender’s inn and were never seen or heard from again.

On the set of the Synthetic Cinema’s latest horror film, Dead Souls, last Monday, actors took a break inside the decrepit house they were filming in to talk about what viewers can expect.

Taking off from the baffling final five days of Poe’s life, “the idea for the screenplay was not to truly speculate,” said Ben Livingston, who co-wrote The Raven with Hannah Shakespeare. “We just gravitated towards the idea that if Poe were confronted with these horrific images as reality, how would he react?”

April 30th marks the 100th anniversary of Universal Pictures, founded by dry goods merchant Carl Laemmle who believed that “nickelodeons” were the wave of the future. Over the years, the studio produced films of every variety, from Schindler’s List to Animal House to Francis the Talking Mule, and added eight Best Picture Oscars to its trophy case in the process. Time and again, however, it returned to cinema’s darkest corners, and in the process created a truly impressive array of horror classics. In honor of the anniversary, we thought we’d take a brief look at Universal’s proud history in the genre, and the influence their movies continue to exert. 100 Years of Universal Horror

Chloe Moretz says the Carrie remake will be “darker and more psychological” than the original 1976 horror film and based on the Stephen King book of the same name more than the previous motion picture.

Of all the Graham Masterton’s horror novels, Family Portrait is quite popular for it’s being an update of the Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. In this interview Mr. Masterton talks on this truly horror epic and his other literary experiences.

Behind that hard-bitten, cyberpunk, erotic master of horror writing personae– Ray Garton is actually a normal guy. He likes puppies and kittens and soothing photographs of woodland sunsets. For a guy that brought us the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Live Girls and who was named the 2006 Grand Master of Horror Award from the World Horror Society, he is awfully easy to talk to. An Interview With Ray Garton

“I think right now we’re living in a golden age for fantasy writers, for speculative fiction, for paranormal romance,” said Anne Rice, whose new book, The Wolf Gift, marks her return to the world of supernatural monsters after taking a decade off from the undead to focus on her Catholic faith (which she has since renounced).

Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th promises to give horror fans a unique insider’s look into the iconic horror series, featuring over 100 interviews with cast and crew spanning all twelve films and the television series, many of whom have never before publicly discussed their involvement in the long-running franchise. The documentary is written and directed by Daniel Farrands and produced by Thommy Hutson, who previously combined forces on the most acclaimed horror franchise documentary ever made, 2010’s Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, an epic four-hour journey that chronicled the making of director Wes Craven’s seminal

Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book – a piece of children’s literature that’s been awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novel and the Newberry Medal (among others) – is also now prepped to make the jump to the big screen, with Walt Disney Pictures backing the production.

Former New Times staff writer-turned-fiction writer Christopher Farnsworth has just released the third book in his President’s Vampire series, Red, White and Blood. Read an interview…

Earthling has announced the upcoming publication later this year of the 25h Anniversary Edition of Weaveworld by Clive Barker. Subterranean Press will be selling copies.

Description: That which is imagined need never be lost…

Earthling celebrates 25 years of Clive Barker’s Weaveworld with the definitive edition of this dark fantasy masterwork. Weaveworld: 25th Anniversary Edition will be released late 2012 in a modest print run.

Description: Clive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world – and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results. With its volatile mix of the fantastical and the contemporary, the everyday and the otherworldly, Weaveworld is an epic work of dark fantasy and horror – a tour de force from one of today’s most forceful and imaginative artists.

Gift Edition: clothbound, unsigned

Numbered Edition: hand numbered 1-350; signed by Clive Barker and illustrator Richard Kirk; leatherbound; fine endsheets; bound-in satin ribbon page marker; traycased; includes bonus appendix material printed in full color: previously unreleased art as well as an early treatment/synopsis and original typed and hand-edited manuscript pages for Weaveworld when it was initially conceived as a children’s book

All editions feature new typesetting and design, two-color offset printing on fine paper (likely 80# Finch), 7×10 inch oversized pages, and smyth sewing … and nearly 30 original pieces of art by Richard Kirk, who has illustrated other projects by Clive Barker as well as Earthling releases by China Mieville and Christopher Golden.

Time Magazine calls Weaveworld “an irresistible yarn,” and Peter Straub says it is “pure dazzle, pure storytelling.” This 25th anniversary edition of Weaveworld will undoubtedly be the one to own and experience.

Limited: 350 signed numbered copies, in traycase
Gift: Fully cloth bound hardcover edition

You can pre-order directly from Subterranean Press here: Weaveworld