The Most Exciting Two Hours of My Writing Career

Have I mentioned that my debut novel will be coming out from Thunderstorm Books? No? Well it is. This month. In a limited, signed edition. With this cover:



What's it about, you ask? Here's the back cover description:

“All David wanted was to rest and get better. He moved from Vermont to Boston to beat his cancer. Even before the boxes are unpacked, he and his best friend Sam notice an eerie presence in his new apartment building. The emaciated haunt is a roiling storm of fury with black iron claws and jagged metal teeth. She attacks David without reason or pity, and just when he thinks he knows her limits, she tears through them. Hag is a dark, brooding novel set in a blighted personal landscape. A story of deathless rage and enduring hatred.”

Writing is not very exciting. I sit alone, wrangle with myself, and hammer words onto the page. It's not, overall, a thrilling procesds to watch, and it not very exciting to do. Even the activities surrounding writing contain precious few moments of excitement. Short story sales aren't that thrilling any more. Signing contracts is de rigueur. Appearing with someone I like or respect can be neat, as is the opportunity to sit down and talk with fellow writers. But neither of those is all that electrifying.

But this video is pretty exciting: me signing sheets that will be bound into my book. Above the signatures of Laird Barron, who wrote a fantastic introduction, and M. Wayne Miller, who produced the hauntingly beautiful cover above. This is the first part of my book I have touched, the first time it's come home to me that I have written a book that will be bound and that people will read. And yes, each one of the books is signed by me, Laird Barron, and M. Wayne Miller.



Hag will be part of Thunderstorm Books Malestrom Wave V, released as a set with Apocrypha by Brian Keene, and King of the Bastards by Steven Shrewsbury and Brian Keene. If you don't know who Brian Keene and Steven Sherwsbury are, go out and find them right now. They are excellent writers, and I am pleased and humbled to be with them in this set. Maelstrom Wave V will cost $135 for all three books, and they cannot be purchased separately. If you find the price is steep, remember that these are limited editions, and the craftsmanship of Thunderstorm Books is very impressive. I am working on finding a paperback publisher, so Hag will be back in print some time after this rare collectors' first edition has sold out. But you'll have to hand me the book to get it signed.