Jungle Mania
Attention all writers! Tasmaniac Publications is running a writing competition, to coincide with the release of NEIGHBOURHOOD JUNGLE. To find out more, read on:
To celebrate the second release of Brett McBean’s Jungle trilogy, Neighbourhood Jungle, Tasmaniac will be holding a short story writing competition.
Here’s your chance to further expand Brett’s apocalyptic vision of nature destroying modern civilization as we know it, and maybe carving yourself a slice of infamy under this dangerous canopy, for the lucky winner will see their story published in the final instalment, Suburban Jungle, as well as receiving a set of the trilogy in hardback form.
Stories need to be set around a year from when nature stamped its authority on the world, to coincide with the novel’s timeline. With a word count around 5000, we’ll be looking for stories with well thought out characters thrust into a story worth telling – whether they’re struggling to cope with their new found environment or quite the opposite.
Submissions will be accepted from now until mid-July.
Send as a word document, double spaced with standard text, along with ‘Jungle Mania’ in the subject heading to: tasmaniacpublications@gmail.com
Hardcopies are also accepted and can be sent to:
Tasmaniac Publications
P.O. Box 45
Hagley
Tasmania 7292
Australia
Best of luck to all entries…and remember, it’s a jungle out there!
I Went To The Last Motel…
Imagine if my novel THE LAST MOTEL had really been an early ’80s horror movie; an Australian-made low-budget exploitation flick in the vein of Motel Hell or Friday the 13th. That it had fallen into obscurity in the years following its release in 1981, and more than twenty years later I had written a movie tie-in novel.
Well, that’s exactly the premise the folks at LegumeMan Books and I took with the re-release of my first novel.
Since my novel was heavily influenced by low-budget horror movies of the ’70s/early ’80s, we thought it would be fun if this re-release tied in with the cinematic nature of my book. Initially the publishers and I were simply going to design the book in the mould of a movie tie-in, and leave it at that. But the more we talked, the more we liked the idea taking the concept further and actually creating a faux trailer, poster, lobby cards…
So no, there was no LAST MOTEL movie; no ‘Butch’ Callaghan and no Brazilian video containing the only known trailer for the movie. Everything you see in the offical website was created by the talented people at LegumeMan Books (with a little help from me and some friends). The trailer was filmed by us up at Creswick in April, 2010. The cast (including Butch) was played by our friends (I played the corpse!). The music was composed and performed by myself and Matthew Revert. The poster, lobby cards and video cassette were all created specifically for this re-release.
Apologies to anyone convinced this was a real movie and were hoping that one day a copy of this long-lost movie would turn up.
Still, we hope this re-release concept will be taken in the same way the book was written – with a sense of fun and entertainment, and with tongue lightly pressing on cheek. With that in mind, here is the IMDB page for the ‘movie’ THE LAST MOTEL: THE LAST MOTEL (1981)
And here is the trailer: THE LAST MOTEL TRAILER (YouTube)
Lastly, the official website for the movie that never was: The Last Motel – The Movie.
Keene To Close The Keenedom
Soon, the message board mecca that was The Keenedom will be no more (Brian lays out his reasons here). As a result, I will no longer have a forum, and will not likely have another anytime soon. However, I will still be posting all of my writing and publishing updates here, and if you’re on Facebook, I’ll be using that as my substitute message board. Here is my Facebook page, if you’re interested in ‘friending’ me.
Check-In Once Again at The Last Motel!
I’m pleased to announce that the new edition of my first novel, THE LAST MOTEL, has been released. However, this isn’t just any old re-release. This edition from LegumeMan Books is a true novelisation of the lost 1981 Australian horror movie, complete with a reproduction of the original cover art and 18 pages of movie stills and never before seen production photos! With no known print of the film in existence, this novel will be as close as most people will ever get to actually watching this brutal horror movie. Available in trade paperback, ebook, and special lettered editions. For more information, visit the LAST MOTEL page. For more information about the movie and the book’s history, visit Last Motel – The Movie.
Vincent Preis Awards 2010
I’m pleased to announce that my novel Die Mutter (The Mother) has come in 2nd place in the German horror literary award, Vincent Preis (Vincent Price), for ‘Best International Literary Works 2010′. Sitting among the likes of Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene, Joe Hill and Simon Clark, I must say I’m humbled and awed. Thank you to all of my German readers for voting for Die Mutter.
The Truth is Out There…
The truth about my first novel, THE LAST MOTEL, can finally be told!
THE LAST MOTEL was a 1981 Australian horror movie that was moderately successful upon its initial release, but soon fell into obscurity. In 2002 I wrote the novel based on the movie, and, with the writer/director’s OK (in fact, on his insistence) the book was marketed as an original novel, rather than a novelisation. Now that the film’s writer/director – Butch Callaghan – is gone, I’ve decided to come clean and let the world know about this little-seen horror movie. Also, the novel will now be re-printed as a movie tie-in, and will be coming soon from LegumeMan Books.
More details about both the novelisation and the movie to follow. You can go here to watch the trailer for THE LAST MOTEL, listen to select tracks from the soundtrack, and view behind-the-scenes photos and production stills: The Last Motel – the movie.
Special LegumeMan Books Signing
A group of LegumeMan Books authors (Matthew Revert, R. Frederick Hamilton, Steve Gerlach, Andrew Gallacher, and myself) will be at Dymocks, Southland, on May 14th, for a group signing. If you live in Melbourne, feel free to come by and say hello, buy books, get books signed, and maybe you’ll even get a hug or two. More details can be found here.
Boycott Dorchester
Dorchester Publishing has been screwing their authors over, and some of them have decided that they’re as mad as hell as they’re not going to take it anymore. To read about just how Dorchester have been behaving, and what you as readers, writers, artists, etc, can do, go here.
Words of Wisdom
Wise words from someone who knows.
A Maelstrom is Coming
Two of my favourite people in the horror genre – Brian Keene and Thunderstorm Books – have teamed up for a new line of limited hardcover books, to be published by Thunderstorm Books. Each set in the new line will contain three titles – a novel and novella by Keene, as well as work by a new author of Brian’s choosing – and will be limited to only 250 copies and priced at around $125 for each set.
For more information about Maelstrom, go here.
