Dark Bits

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 23

2012-01-11T22:57:00.004-05:00

Days have grown chilled here on the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. But it's a chill of evil and a portent of impending tragedy.

I know how it feels to lose a loved one to the forces of darkness. To lose an entire family. I know what suffering is. Some new to this cursed town do not. They've not experienced Hell up close and personal. But that will soon change.

Celia Matthews...a young woman, just married. She sees a bright future. I wish I could save her from the disillusionment that will shortly follow.

But I can't save everyone.

When her husband fails to return home from work tonight she'll get a call. Detective Sturdevant will break the terrible news to her. Her husband was killed in an "accident" on 22.

He will not tell her the body has somehow disappeared from the morgue. What's left of it, I should say.

She will cry, as we all do when our own are taken from us much too soon. But tears...are a step away from screams.

Because when she finally returns to her bedroom, distraught and certain she will not sleep...He will be waiting for her. Her mourning will die as quickly as her gasp. The dead seldom stay buried in News Salem.

And seldom return the same...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files by Howard Hopkins
For a limited time -- Now just $2.99 on Kindle & Nook
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Kindle Reigns for Christmas and the Western Rides Again in 2012

2012-01-09T14:38:00.005-05:00

The good news for those of us authors and readers who work in the electronic book arena is that Kindle reigned supreme with holiday sales among ereaders, and Nook also did quite well. In the fading hours of Christmas my own Nightmare Club paranormal series for children saw a huge increase in sales that has continued over the proceeding week, as well as a decent increase in my paranormal horror series The Chloe Files and my newly inaugurated western line that began with Blood Creek and Johnny Dead Kindle releases.

The trend is certainly encouraging, and the very fact people are turning back to the escapism of reading in these troubled economic and personal times is hopeful. Even more so is the trend toward young readers picking up books again, something that had been becoming a bit of a lost art over the past decade with the advent of video games.

With the recent announcement that the publisher of Black Horse Westerns, for whom I have penned 34 novels, opened their own ebook line, of which the first in my "Pass" series, Vengeance Pass, will see e-print in 2012, the year looks to be a new renaissance for the Western.

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today
Limited time price $2.99
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)
Will you believe?

Doc Savage Returns in Horror in Gold

2012-01-08T13:45:00.003-05:00

Doc Savage returns in a brand new adventure written by Doc Savage historian Will Murray (writing under the cherished house name of Kenneth Robeson) in Horror in Gold. With a new gorgeous cover painting by Joe DeVito, this marks Doc's second all new "wild" adventure, with the promise of more to come.

The book is available from Amazon and through retail outlets in paperback, and also in ebook versions, including Kindle and Nook. Doc Savage and adventures fans alike won't want to miss the latest exploit in the adventures of Doc Savage.

From the back cover:

It began with an uncanny encounter on busy Seventh Avenue. Two men pass each other in the street, walking along calmly one minute—struck down the next by a horrific fate. All over Manhattan, soundless detonations cut down prince and pauper alike. No one is safe. Great buildings are reduced to ruin. Banks are demolished. The authorities stand helpless. Only one man, Doc Savage—scientist, adventurer and superman—can penetrate the eerie enigma that threatens to bring the mightiest city on earth to its knees. But when The Alchemist decrees that the Man of Bronze must surrender unconditionally to save New York, will Doc be snuffed out next? From the besieged canyons of New York to the rugged coast of Alaska, Doc Savage and his men race to resolve the riddle that brings grisly doom to ordinary citizens—and threatens the economic recovery of a Depression-besieged world.

On Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Doc-Savage-Horror-Kenneth-Robeson/dp/1618270230/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326047493&sr=1-2

New Interview up Today

2012-01-08T13:42:00.002-05:00

I'm being interviewed over on Ashley Barron's blog today. Ashley was kind enough to let me take up much space discussing writing in various genres, the business of writing and my series, as well as advice for those just starting out. I hope you'll take a look.

You can find the interview here:

http://blog.thepriyas.com/2012/01/08/author-interview-howard-hopkins.aspx

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 22

2012-01-06T13:17:00.003-05:00

Clouds hide the winter sun on the Ghost Coast of News Salem, Maine. They are the color of melancholy. I sometimes think there are clouds in my soul.

I often wonder how my sister could have vanished so entirely from the face of the earth thirty years ago. I should have found some trace of her by now. Maybe that means I'm fooling myself by holding onto hope she may still be alive. Maybe the ghost I've been seeing really is her.

Still, too many things don't add up. What few clues I've discovered point to something else, something darker. Something that tells me I can't let go of my thin hope of finding out the truth...and helping her find peace if need be. Helping myself find peace.

But I'm not looking for closure...I'm looking for answers...And something tells me I'm getting close...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time price $2.99
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)
Will you believe?

Johnny Dead Comes to Ebook

2012-01-04T22:29:00.002-05:00

From out of the past come the roaring guns of a man long thought dead. Is he ghost or man?

Johnny Dead by Howard Hopkins is now available in Kindle and Nook. Formerly a Black Horse Western published under the penname Lance Howard, this new edition carries a brand new cover.

From the blurb:

Two years ago, ambushed by masked killers, brought down by blazing guns, manhunter John Deletéreo, his wife and unborn child perished under the hot New Mexico sun, the only testament to their demise two simple graves on a hillside.

So when he rides into the hellhole known as Payton's Bluff, seeking answers to a mystery plaguing him since birth, townsfolk think they've seen a ghost. Legend calls him Johnny Dead, a man with a skull-carved Peacemaker who delivers grim justice, then vanishes into the Western night.

Then on a darkened trail, he encounters beautiful but bitter Kylie Barton, a young woman bent on revenge against the powerful Galendez family. Having sought the help of a pathological killer to avenge a brutal attack, she sets in motion events that threaten to end the career of a man many claim isn't even alive...

Has a gunfighter returned from the dead?
Johnny Dead by Howard Hopkins
$2.99 on Kindle and Nook
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006TI54NA

Living in a Virtual World

2012-01-02T13:53:00.002-05:00

Writers are always thinking. And not always in normal directions. But what fun is normalcy, anyway?

Since I have just finished drafting a major YA paranormal series project (which will consist of three lead novellas followed by an explosive and large, 110,000 words plus, novel launch) I noticed a strange--I guess the only word I can find for it is "break" -- detachment after typing -30- (something writers used to use to mean "The End" from the old telegraph days) and leaving my "girls" behind, at least for a few days before plunging into subsequent drafts and rewrites, edits and all that good stuff.

I was "living" in my head with these characters so intensely for so long I found myself arguing with them, angry with them, happy for them, annoyed at things they said or did, and sad when certain others didn't make it out of the story alive. They became an extended family of sorts.

And doing this every single day for a month, giving myself over to their story, meant feeding it all into the virtual world of the computer, in essence uploading the scenes flashing through my brain into electronic chatter.

We all live more and more in a virtual world. We work on computers, play on computers, date on computers, read on Kindles, Nooks and computers, even discover imagined worlds--in my case horror and paranormal worlds, or the world of the Old West--on computers.

So where does it stop? Is the line of demarcation growing ever thinner? Are the characters peopling our virtual worlds becoming more and more real? Are they part of us, or are we slowly becoming part of them? Does the old phrase "authors give their chracters life" take on a whole new meaning?

Will someday who we are be simply another file executed on our computer, where we can make life function as we want it to? Creating billions of our own little realities, where only what we desire lives?

It's difficult for writers to separate from their creations. Add that to a computer where we can immerse ourselves into the worlds we create...

I guess, then, my only question would be, what happens when the power goes out?

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Sliver of Darkness Now on Sale

2012-01-01T22:16:00.003-05:00

Ring in the New year with a paranormal bang! I'm pleased to announce that for a limited time The Chloe Files #2: Sliver of Darkness is on sale on Kindle exclusively for $2.99. That's a dollar off the publication price for a complete Chloe Everson novel plus a bonus short story that sends our paranormal investigator back in a ghostly 1920s flapper party.

From the blurb:

"Engaging and fresh...an imaginative ghost story, filled with mystery and chilling scenes."
--Margaret Marr, Nights & Weekends Reviews"

The veil between the living and the dead has been pierced. The war between Darkness and Light has begun. All I can say is...bring it on!"
--Chloe Everson

Who knows what crimes cripple the minds of the guilty? Brant Lamont's acting career was on a downhill slide, then one night after a performance he vanished. Was he dead? Alive? Forty years later still no one knows what became of the mercurial actor...or the rising starlet who'd become his mistress. It was as if they'd both walked off the face of the earth. Until Chloe Everson's world flashes to a bizarre black and white and the specter of one of Lamont's characters, the Sliver of Darkness, visits her in the dead of the night.

But ghostly visitations aren't Chloe's only dilemma, because the New Salem Ripper is stalking the waterfront, butchering prostitutes and young strippers, moving ever closer to an encounter with the object of his obsession... Chloe herself...

Includes the bonus Chloe story: The Trouble with Flappers

Waking up naked in black and white with a ghost in your bedroom? Awkward!
The Chloe Files #2: Sliver of Darkness
$2.99 on Kindle New Year's Celebration special price.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057U3PH8

The Kindness Resolution

2011-12-31T16:02:00.002-05:00

'Tis the close of the old year and the time when we humans engage in that old tradition of making resolutions.

Some of us, perhaps, set the bar a bit too high and those resolutions fall by the wayside after a few weeks or a month or two. A few decide the resolutions weren't what they wanted in the first place and reassess.

Some succeed, or surpass.

It's good to make goals. Little ones, especially, since obtaining them gives us confidence and the desire to build from those successes. Of course, setting the bar too low doesn't provide much inspiration, because they should challenge us in some way.

I never really make any resolutions. If I want to achieve something or change something about myself, I attempt it the year through. It does not matter if it is New Year's Eve or any other day.

But this year I would like to ASK for a resolution. Something not too big, but not too small, either. I would like everybody to resolve possibly just to be a little nicer to one another. To be a little more tolerant of others' differences and likes. To get along just a little bit better. Maybe it will start a trend, spread to those who are insolent and rude, those who thrive on hate and selfishness.

Start small. Smile more. Help without grumbling or expectation of reward. Just a bit. Resolve to attract kindness and understanding.

To all the readers of my books and this blog, have a wonderful, successful and most of all safe Happy New Year.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 21

2011-12-30T13:29:00.003-05:00

There's a woman who works at the Museum of Natural History here in New Salem, Maine. Her name is Genie Lansing. She owns a 600-year-old monkey...that's what she tells me, anyway.

But that's about ALL she tells me. There's something about her I can't figure out. She vanishes from closed rooms, shows up in locked houses. She says she's not allowed to interfere when I need her...yet finds a way to do just enough...and nothing more.

I can't tell if she's friend or foe...or working on her own agenda. All I can say is I don't trust her. Especially around my fiance.

There are things about her I'm starting to put together. Paranormal things. Something about her is hauntingly familiar. I've got a feeling when I find out...I'm not going to like it much.

Once thing I do know, she's somehow connected to the things going on in this cursed town. And maybe even to the disappearance of my sister. Whatever secrets she has, I'll discover them.

Until then she better stay the hell out of my way...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
$2.99 Limited time price on Kindle & Nook
The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Vengeance is a Dish Best Served Bloody

2011-12-27T13:11:00.003-05:00

I'm pleased to announce Blood Creek is now available exclusively for Amazon Kindle. A Western novel of vicious revenge upon those who committed a heinous crime long ago and thought they got away with it, Blood Creek was originally published in hardcover under the Black Horse Western line and in large print Linford Library paperback edition under my Lance Howard penname. With a completely redesigned cover, this is its first electronic imprint, published under my own name, and will remain an exclusive Kindle release through arrangement with Amazon.com.

From the Blurb:

Fifteen years ago five unruly sons of rich parents committed a heinous crime against a young Ute woman, only to walk away unpunished.

Now a ruthless killer bent on revenge is stalking them, murdering their wives, and destroying their lives piece by piece.

After manhunter Calin Travers is mysteriously attacked, then lured under false pretenses to Sundown, Colorado, a town to which he swore he’d never return, he discovers himself face to face with old guilts and a brutal killer who has marked him for death.

"This author does miracles with the written word. He takes the reader to the heart of the story and holds them glued to the pages with passion to the very end..."
--Romance and Friends Reviews

"...believable characters and settings will have you breathing 1800s dust and seeing by the flickering light of an oil lamp as you turn every tension-filled page."
--Tim Greaton, Maine's Other Author (TM)

Vengeance is a dish best served bloody...
Blood Creek by Howard Hopkins
Now available exclusively for Kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QD6VK8

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 20

2011-12-25T22:25:00.004-05:00

Days have gotten shorter here on the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. And with the longer nights a deeper darkness takes hold.

That darkness is always there, saturating the very fabric of this cursed town's reality, but it grows stronger as winter begins.

I see Patricia's ghost more and more. At times I'm convinced it is indeed her, but at other moments...I see evil glaring through.

What does she want? Why, if it is her, has she come back to lead me into the abyss? There's something...dangerous about her now. Something that is meant for only me. And yet I still miss her terribly...and search desperately for any clue to her whereabouts.

I tell myself a ghost is better than nothing at all. I wonder if it will be one of those weak moments that kills me...
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Put some Chloe in your Christmas Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Monkey's First Christmas

2011-12-23T13:50:00.003-05:00

Since Christmas is nearly upon us, I thought I might tell my Christmas monkey story again. I was lucky enough as a kid to have a number of monkeys as pets, some nice, some not so much. They were cute, but could be quite naughty, and did have some bad habits. But they ere also fascinating little creatures. One of them I pay homage to in my paranormal horror series The Chloe Files, with Bob, the 600-year-old capuchin.

Anyway, Twas the night before Christmas, late ‘60s, and all through the house…not a creature was stirring…

Except for the monkey.

Sometimes pets and Christmas trees just don’t mix. I had a beagle who somehow thought ornaments constituted a new food group. That was good for four or five days of sparkly poop.

But monkeys and trees…

His name was Porky and he was a red macaque. One of those stubby monkeys with virtually no tail and a little red ass that made him look like he’d spent a bit too much time at the local House of Pain. He had a bit of an attitude when it came to the Christmas tree. Whenever he was out of his cage, he gave it the evil monkey eye. I can’t imagine what was going through his simian mind when he stared at that multi-colored, glowing glittering faux fir, and you just knew Santa had a poop fling with his name on it.

Porky managed to figure a way out of his cage one not-so-funny Christmas Eve. Did you know monkeys like to fling Christmas balls? We lost two lamps that way.

That loud crash? Well, that wasn’t Jolly Old St. Nick coming down the chimney. Something came down, all right. With a loud boom and a shrill monkey screech.

We got up to find faux fir D-O-A in the middle of the living room, along with the two deceased lamps. Christmas balls—the ones that survived—had to be dug out of various places—behind the couch, chairs. Tinsel was strewn everywhere, including wrapped about the monkey like a shiny new silver coat. The Christmas Angel tree topper? We still miss her...

And Porky himself? Porky was hanging from one of those ceiling lamps that had the chain-encompassed cord running down the wall. The look on his face was one of fear mixed with a weird monkey satisfaction. I think he was pretty happy he’d finally given that fake tree its just desserts.

Well, at least he hadn’t eaten any tinsel, so flying silver poop or hurled foil vomit wasn’t a problem…

Will you believe?
Put some Chloe in your Christmas Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 19

2011-12-21T14:32:00.004-05:00

The Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine, appears calm this night. A soft breeze rustles the color-splashed leaves and waves wash in, glazed with moonlight. But it's a facade. Because Evil lurks beneath the serenity. Waiting.

What do you fear most? What brings you to a state of razor-edged anxiety? Of terror so pure it makes you want to crawl out of your very mind?

Losing my loved ones. That's what scares me the most. And I've been through it. Over and over.
My parents, my sister...all of them...gone. The people I love have always been taken from me. Tragically.

And that's somehow connected with this cursed town. So I have no choice but to fight it, and risk losing what I have left. But I won't let whatever force is threatening me have it easy. That much...I swear.

There's gonna be hell to pay.
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
$2.99 on Kindle & Nook
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Drama Drama Everywhere

2011-12-20T12:51:00.002-05:00

The older I get the more tired of drama I get. And it seems the holidays while bringing out the best in many also bring out the worst.

Some folks will always want the spotlight shining on them, especially in certain types of family dynamics. I saw far too much of that growing up. The minute the holiday season approached it started to become impossible to find joy and be happy because certain close individuals decided misery loved company. Lots and lots of misery.

I recall Christmas Eves sitting in front of the tree looking at the lights alone. I also recall strained silent tables and the opposite--big family non-crisises where the people involved could not stand to have the attention on the season's meaning instead of themselves.

I think just as bad--maybe even worse in some ways--are work situations where somehow the insecure control freak winds up in charge--which happens far too often--and decides to cause either constant turmoil in the work place or put the other employees under the stress of losing their jobs. Why do employers seem to wait until right before the holiday to lay off folks? Losing your job is a stressful enough situation, but add that to the stress of the holiday, something that is supposed to be happy and it's ten times worse. Is it any wonder that the suicide rate goes up this time of year? And of course the control-freak manager gets to go home secure in his/her job and have a warm holiday with their own family.

Some people can't seem to survive without drama and causing strife to bring others into their dark little worlds. Their philosophy seems to be, I'm miserable so everyone else has to be. And if it affects children who should be basking in the magic of Christmas (and not only Christmas since Halloween and Thanksgiving and others were spoiled for me as a kid) I think it is just unpardonable.

Life is hard enough without manufacturing drama to make it harder. Those who like to dwell in drama, fine, go do it somewhere else and don't bring others down (and I am NOT talking about people with serious depressive disorders or who have undergone tragic events--I am talking about drama kings and queens who love to cause trouble because of their own insecurity). You are entitled to ruining your own holiday if you like. But you are not entitled to ruin it for those of us who want to find joy and celebrate.

Whether you have a lot of a little, please try to be better to each other for at least this time of year. Maybe in the end you'll find that's the only real drama you need. And remember, you are not entitled to magic; but you can make it...

There's an old saying that goes, Dead men tell no tales. That saying might be true...anywhere else but on the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. Here they tell many tales, and they seldom stay dead.
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback

Dark Clouds

2011-12-19T13:36:00.002-05:00

Do you ever have those days where you wake up feeling like one of those cartoon characters who's always walking around with a black rain cloud above his/her head?

Sometimes I feel like I have entire weeks like that. Because whatever can go wrong usually does.

Maybe that's one reason some of the characters in my books have so much grief. Chloe Everson in my paranormal horror series The Chloe Files always has that dark cloud above her head, usually put there by some demon out to ruin her day.

Of course, most of us don't have a demon chasing us around, but sometimes it sure feels that way and maybe that it would be easier to explain the bad luck days.

Those are the days you just want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head. But not many of us have the luxury of doing that. So we get up, muddle through our day hoping the sky doesn't fall on us and that the rain cloud will be replaced with a bright shining sun the next.

On those days I find I need to escape into my fiction worlds the most. Not just writing them, because if my day is going crappy, my writing is probably sure to follow. But just taking a few hours--or as much time as you can spare--to escape into somebody else's fictional world. I like to plunge into the old pulp series Doc Savage myself, because I can just get caught up in the escapism and adventure. Or in comic books where the heroes overcome their black clouds. And in spooky books where characters like Chloe are usually plagued by far darker clouds than I am and still manage to persevere and come out stronger.

Dark clouds are going to follow us all from time to time. Sometimes they are just annoying clouds and we spend the day tripping over things or battling a series of minor irritations that add up to one big crapfest. Other days awful things happen that aren't so easily dealt with.

All we have is our ability to regroup and overcome. The small things that give us escape, like books, movies or games help, because they get out minds off the bad for at least a bit and that is sometimes enough to give us a new perspective on our problems, or at least a few moments away from them.

Here's hoping your dark cloud days are fewer and farther between And on those days when they do hover above you find I hope you find your place to escape the rain...

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 18

2011-12-16T22:31:00.002-05:00

There's an old saying that goes, Dead men tell no tales. That saying might be true...anywhere else but on the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. Here they tell many tales, and they seldom stay dead. I know. I've seen it with my own eyes.

Darkness pervades this town. Even in the daylight hours when you can't see it...you can feel it. Simmering in the sea air, hiding in the gray mist.

Evil.

Searching for a hold in this world, agitating those behind the veil.

My sister's ghost continues to appear. Despite that I try to keep hope she is still alive...and that I will find her. Anywhere else but here, that hope would be gone. You see, Evil can work both ways. I choose not to give in, look at the darkest side. I'm not looking for closure. I'm looking for answers. And if she is dead, if the forces that have entered my life have taken her...
I won't stop until they pay.

Or until death finds me. I owe her that much.
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
Limited time Dark December price $2.99 on Kindle & Nook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Weird Things Writers Do?

2011-12-16T13:21:00.003-05:00

So over the last week and a half I have drafted three novellas and am 20k into the novel portion of my new paranormal horror YA saga...but I only had a loose, highlight points outline up to about 3/4s because I got stuck on the plot but decided to just start drafting the tale (not uncommon for me, as I work that way quite often.) As usual, I am confident the rest will click in once I start approaching the end of the trail. Sometimes that way of writing has caused me to pull out what's left on my hair. Other times its been almost magical.

Well, this morning I am at the gym on the treadmill and suddenly all the remaining scenes start flashing through my addled brain. Bang, bang, bang, one right after another, complete with my characters spouting off all at the same time.

I start spacing, trying to hear what everybody is saying. I wish some of them would just shut up a minute instead of all talking at once.

I know I am glassy-eyed and some guy on the next treadmill is yapping at me. He is also looking at me like I must be on drugs. He finally gives up and a grumpy look takes up residence on his face.

But I have twenty minutes left on the treadmill and no paper or pen! Then another fifteen stretching and twenty more to drive home. I start panicking that the elusive bits of dialog and incidents are all going to go bye bye. To make things worse, once home I really really have to go to the bathroom.

So I grab legal pad and pen and by the time I get out have the rest of my plot. Now I just gotta hope it's not, um, crap...

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Introducing: Barnabas from The Nightmare Club

2011-12-14T22:02:00.003-05:00

Name: Barnabas the Pig

Born: August 1. Aged 2

Hometown: New Salem, Maine

Closest relatives: Unknown.

Barnabas Facts: Barnabas is a Vietnamese potbellied pig, neither black nor white, just a sort of dirty color. He belongs to Moose, who teaches him bad habits to torment Sparks, like throwing up in Sparks' shoes. When he isn't eating, he's sleeping, and not much else.

Occupation: Pig. Nap Engineer.

Starring Role:

The Nightmare Club #1: The Headless Paperboy
The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
The Nightmare Club #3: The Willow Witch

Author Comments: Barnabas is named after the vampire on the show Dark Shadows, has a tendency to bite and find ways to get at Moose's Chips Ahoy cookies. Sparks calls him the ugliest pig he's ever seen.

Where everyday is Halloween!
The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

Grief and Grandma’s Ghost (My First Paranormal Experience)

2011-12-13T12:41:00.004-05:00

Folks often ask me how I combine the themes of loss, grief and loneliness with the supernatural, how I put so much emotion into the subject in a genre that can sometimes come across superficially, especially in bad slasher movies nowadays. In my series The Chloe Files, the lead character, Chloe Everson, has experienced a lot of loss and tragedy in her life. Her parents died when she was seven, and her twin sister, Patricia, was taken away. Life is tough on Chloe, and it has been a constant struggle for her to find ways to deal with and survive her loss, for that matter, survive period.

When she encounters her sister’s ghost, she fears that means her sister is dead, which, in The Chloe Files, may or may not be the case. But loss haunts her again, as does the paranormal. And if readers are to feel Chloe’s pain, her loneliness, the emotion has to be honest, heart-felt, before it can be translated into words. And translating such deep painful emotion into words is a challenge. Words, as powerful as they can be, too often fail when we are faced with the death of a loved one. With debilitating grief.

Even so, when asked how I do it, how I make it ring true in phantasmal environment and not come across silly or trite like an afterthought in a B grade horror movie, I have to answer, it comes naturally.

Because I have experienced the blending of loss and the ghostly.

What’s the adage? “Write what you know.” I know loss and I know ghosts. At least, I am pretty sure I have experienced the paranormal.

I was not all that old when my grandma died.

Around 12. She lived with my aunt and uncle in this big old house not far from the sea. She had a room upstairs (and one of those double-seated electric chair lifts that ran on a track at the side of the staircase I used to like to ride up and down with her) and every Sunday my dad and mom would pick her up to go visit my grandpa at the cemetery, then to this little place called Garside’s for ice cream (my grandpa had died a few months before I was born). She’d put flowers on his grave and at that age I really didn’t understand that a lot, but knew it was important to her. Each time we’d pick her up I’d run upstairs to get her. She’d always be sitting in her rocking chair by the window, I think watching for us to arrive. The room always smelled of lavender and what as a kid I ill-manneredly called the “old people” smell.”

Since I was named after an uncle, her son, who’d perished in a plane crash in China during World War II, she probably treated me as her favorite sometimes. She was 81 and lonely. Even at my young age I could tell she was more existing than living, and I could see how she brightened when I visited her. But at the age I am now, I look back and wish I’d spent more time with her.

At Christmastime, she seemed frail, more so than usual. I think she had given up on life at that point, though at the time I didn’t realize it. At New Years—we always got together at my aunt’s for each holiday—she wasn’t able to come down the stairs and be with the rest of the family. I went up to see her, and she was sitting in her chair, a single night light on in the corner. The air had a heavy stuffy quality to it. At 12 I didn’t realize what it was: Death waiting.

Two days later, still on holiday break from school, my mother, younger sister, aunt and I went to a local restaurant for lunch. Hot fudge sundaes, even in winter. The day was bitterly cold, as they often are here in Maine in early January. I remember that distinctly. Spitting snow.

Conversation was guarded between my mother and aunt, but the gist of it was my grandma wasn’t doing well. She had missed getting to the bathroom a number of times and was no longer getting out of bed. My uncle was a doctor, my aunt a nurse, so they were keeping her at home. Nothing was wrong with her, really, at least as far as disease went. She didn’t have cancer or some dread malady such as that. But she was old and she did have a lonely heart. She’d lost her husband and a son. And her reason to go on.

My father worked long hours, eight in the morning until eight each night. But the moment he got home we all went down to my aunt’s house to see her.

I won’t ever forget the first words out of my aunt’s mouth as we walked into the house:

“She just died…”

Those words crashed like a gunshot. A stunning bang that stopped all emotion.

My sister and I were shuttled off to the huge living room, while my folks went upstairs. I’d never experienced death before, except for a small orange canary I had as a pet. I recall not knowing quite how to react, or possibly I didn’t completely grasp that it meant I would never see my grandma again. That we’d never pick her up on Sundays for ice cream or see her in the emerald velvet dress my mother had made her for Christmas (the one she was buried in).

I don’t think I was able to cry, then. I was 12 and perhaps somewhat too much a loner escaping into my fantasy world of comic books, where death was never really permanent.

It hit me much harder the next year when Christmas came around. I’d matured a bit and her absence at the family gathering left a huge hollow spot inside me. I couldn’t go up to her room and see her. And for some reason after she died in that room, I was afraid to go in it.

She was gone—no comic book resurrection would take place. Death was death. She wasn’t coming back. At least that’s what I was telling myself.

I might have been wrong.

When we got home we opened our presents, my sister and I. Since Santa had been unceremoniously demystified by some butt-wipe kid in my class, we’d switched to opening gifts on Christmas Eve.

I got a small cassette tape recorder. I pulled the wrapping off as if in some sort of daze. An odd depression had settled over me. Thick, heavy, heart-burdening. For some reason the recorder wouldn’t record at first. Maybe I was doing something wrong, though it seemed simple enough to operate. A strange kind of hushing sound was all that came out of it. I didn’t know why and didn’t really care at that point. My parents probably wondered what the hell was wrong with me.

I went to bed, depressed for the first time in my life and just feeling…strange. My overweight dachshund, Schnappsie, always slept with me.

But we didn’t sleep for a long time that night.

Because, I think my grandma came back to say goodbye.

I wasn’t really ready for that, either.

The dog sensed it first, I think. She kept staring at a particular corner of the room. Whining a little. I felt suddenly afraid, as well as depressed.

Then I heard a heavy breathing. The exact same way my grandma had breathed over the final weeks of her life. Labored. A touch fluid. The breathing came from the same area of the room the dog was staring at. I seem to recall a scent of lavender, but, to be honest, it was so long ago, my memory might be playing tricks on me on that point.

The rest I remember distinctly. And like I said, as much as I missed my grandma that night, I wasn’t ready.

I reacted with fear. Both myself and the dog bolted from the room. Schnappsie was just as big a chicken as I was.

I slept in the living room on a pull-out couch bed the rest of the night, the Christmas tree on for comfort.

I now think my grandma had come back to say goodbye. I wish I had stayed in the room and seen it through, but I was too young for “real” ghosts, despite my love of Dark Shadows, or maybe because of it.

Sp when folks ask me how I combine the themes of loss, grief and loneliness with the supernatural, I guess I can answer the way Chloe would: It’s not so hard when you’ve experienced it and miss the hell out of someone…

I know I miss my grandma.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
On Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
Also on Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Chloe-Files-1/Howard-Hopkins/e/2940012513571

Ready, Set, Write!

2011-12-12T15:01:00.003-05:00

Ending a writing project is always somewhat of a relief, though a bittersweet one. After all, you've lived with these characters, who become as real--sometimes more so--than some folks around you, only to have to say good-bye to them, at least for a spell, if you are writing a series.

But another drawback to finishing one project is the prewriting jitters, sometimes outright fear, that can set in because you now know you have to start a new book or story.

Upon finishing a novella for an anthology based on the old radio show Nightbeat, I started to feel that writer's anxiety. I knew I was going to be attempting a new paranormal horror YA series that was to start out with three novellas followed by a full novel. In order to make the whole thing work and launch the series, I needed to jump into the heads of at least three very different personalties and live there until it was time to jump to the next.

That prospect was a bit nerve wracking, because all three of these personalties were out of my usual box. And it's a big project with a lot of writing involved.

Since I am a marathon writer who gets the first draft down as fast as I can to catch that elusive muse energy, it is also exhausting.

Writing is a lot like a marathon anyway. I tend to get up around 30,000 words and hit an exhaustion wall. Then it's push, push, push until the second "wind" kicks in. Since I had already written the Nightbeat novella for a publisher, I hit that wall right at the start of novella three in the series. Everything started coming hard, but I pushed through it. Only to be confronted by the fact the novel part was to be started on its heels, maybe with a day or two rest between (rest meaning writing other promotional material, blogs, poems, editing anhtologies and the like...)

Writing is probably one of the most rewarding things I know of. Creating people and situations from nothing, entertaining others make a writer's bells ring. But, unlike what some of my neighbors think (that guy? he sits on his ass and types all day. What a lazy...) it involves a lot of hard work, especially from an emotional standpoint. Trust me, for my type of writer, two hours in the gym is far less exhausting than two hours of rummaging around in a character's head.

But three novellas down, and the novel just started, writing shoes on, it's time to suck it up, start the coffee drip and run, run, run.

That's the challenge of being a writer, right? Always a new mountain to climb. Always new worlds to explore. As Jackie Gleason said, "And awaaaaay we go!"

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 17

2011-12-09T22:33:00.003-05:00

I've spent almost thirty years searching for Patricia. I remember my sister's face that day they drove her away. I don't think I've ever seen anyone ever look so sad...unless it was my own reflection in the mirror after she was taken.

I tried everything--private detectives, psychics, but never found a single lead...until I saw her ghost. But can I trust my own eyes?

Not in New Salem.

At first I thought it might really be her, but there was this...darkness, is the only way I can describe it. Then I talked to someone who gave me a clue, but that someone might well not exist...

It's complicated. Everything is here.The clue led me to an old church, but now all I have is more questions, more doubts, more...fear.

I'll find her. I swear to God I will. Even if I have to dig up every grave in New Salem and kick every demon's ass who gets in my way.

It's what I do. What I was chosen to do...
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Writer Quirks

2011-12-08T14:26:00.002-05:00

Writers can be strange beings. We have odd little habits mainstream folks don't always understand and, it occurred to me, some that might even get us committed.

It dawned on me yesterday--after the fact, unfortunately, not before--while picking up my niece at school. I wait in my car along the side of the big horseshoe shaped driveway where parking spaces are allotted for parents picking up walkers at the middle school.

Now, being in a car gives you a sort of a "nobody can see me through this big glass window" syndrome to begin with. As proved by far too many folks picking their nose at stoplights. Fact is, it's GLASS. Everybody can see you.

Which is why I need to pick better times to argue with the voices in my head. Because yesterday, while I'm waiting, one of the characters in my new paranormal YA series decides to bitch at me about a mood ring. And, yep, that's right, I argued back.

In all fairness it was not all my fault. I mean, she wouldn't shut up. I thought, hey, I'm the author--I should have my way with this. She did not agree. Strenuously.

Now I can only imagine what the rest of the parents waiting for their children must have thought about it. I guess I am lucky it was cold so the window wasn't cranked down and they could not actually hear what I was saying. But there were gestures involved.

And I am fully expecting a sign there tomorrow that says, Please, kids, don't talk to the strange man arguing with his invisible friend.

Sigh.

Oh, who won the argument?

Um, she did. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Writing the Ghosts of December

2011-12-07T14:47:00.002-05:00

I always find it easier to write spooky stories at this time of year. In fact, I tend to do a lot of my heaviest writing from just before Halloween until that other frightening holiday in February, Valentine's Day. Something about the days growing shorter and colder inspires ghost stories and paranormal tales.

It's no coincidence my horror novel GRIMM takes place primarily in the days leading up to Christmas. The themes of loss and the rebirth that permeate that tale just seemed a natural fit to the season. Perhaps because where exists the darkest night, also exists the brightest hope. The yin and yang of life and life cycles. The time of year that brings the greatest joy can also bring the deepest depression for some. Evil cannot exist without Good, angels without demons. Snooki without Mother Teresa.

Of course holiday ghost stories have a long literary tradition. "A Christmas Carol" is a story must for each year at this time. And authors love to carry that on. My short story The Elevator in my horror anthology Dark Harbors is an homage to the Dickens classic.

The days of Dark December represent different things to different writers and readers. Perhaps romance writers or those who toil in other genres feel different, but for me the fall and winter seasons will always remain haunted. I had my own paranormal encounter during the season, something I'll relate in an upcoming blog.

Until then, I best get back to writing my new paranormal series...

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Introducing: Sparks from The Nightmare Club

2011-12-06T22:35:00.002-05:00

Name: Ernie "Sparks" Woo

Born: September 5. Aged 12

Hometown: New Salem, Maine

Closest relatives: Parents.

Sparks Facts: Sparks is the electronic expert of the group, though he occasionally has mishaps and things get set on fire. He is always trying to develop the perfect "ghost detector." His "witch detector" in The Willow Witch actually manages to work. He's not sure how. He argues with Moose constantly and Moose's pig drives him nuts. He got his nickname not just because he is into electrical things, but because he blew out half the neighborhood's electricity when he was younger and miswired a lamp.

Occupation: Ghost chaser. Student.

Starring Role:

The Nightmare Club #1: The Headless Paperboy
The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
The Nightmare Club #3: The Willow Witch

Author Comments: Sparks is Chinese and while his parents own a Chinese restaurant he hates Chinese food and loves tacos. Everyone would think by the way he constantly argues with other Nightmare Club member Moose that they hate each other. But they are actually best friends--though neither will admit it.

Where everyday is Halloween!
The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 16

2011-12-05T22:30:00.004-05:00

The chilled night of the full moon has given way to a cold gray day on the Ghost Coast of News Salem, Maine. A shiver of evil permeates the damp sea air and warns of impending death.

At the old New Salem Cemetery browned leaves swirl and crackle. The crackling sounds like cartilage crushing as a figure climbs from its 50-year-old grave and shambles towards the rusty iron gate. His head lolls to one side, neck broken, the flesh of his face decayed cellophane stretched over yellowed bone.

Something has brought Billy Ray Danvers back from the sleep of the damned, summoned him from the Hell he so richly deserved. He still carries the rusty clam shucking knife with which he carved out the organs of five unlucky women.

Some foolish soul thought it appropriate to bury the instrument of the victims' demise with the killer, whom they hanged. They should have known better. The dead don't stay buried in New Salem.

And those who perish with hate in their hearts...their evil never dies...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes
$2.99 on Kindle & Nook for Dark December
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

The Story's Over--Not!

2011-12-04T22:22:00.001-05:00

One of the constants of being a writer, especially one who deals in series books like The Chloe Files or The Nightmare Club the way I do, is that finishing the writing of a particular project is an ephemeral joy. The sensation is extremely fleeting because completing one work usually just means we are gearing up to start the next. We are a lot like a hamster on a wheel.

Last weekend I completed my novella for the upcoming Nightbeat anthology, and while that was pretty exciting, bubbling to the surface of my mind the entire time were bits and pieces of the next project I had been planning for a while, a YA series that would be consisting of three novellas and a novel--all written back to back.

This weekend I drafted the first in the series, and it did not come particularly easy. The person who stars in the first book, which is also essentially playing set up to the 4th part and the series, turned out to be a much more complicated personality than I expected. Good for her, like giving birth for me. And now that I have finished her story--for the moment--I know I will immediately have to go on to the next girl, who also has a pretty difficult time ahead of her. Which means I have a difficult time, because characters have a habit of never really doing what you want them to.

But that's the lot of the writer. And while exhausting, it's also pretty exciting. Three girls are going on a journey and I get to drive the wordmobile. They'll tell me where to go--in more than one sense of the phrase.

Now where did I put my keys?

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Time for a Threesome...

2011-12-02T14:34:00.003-05:00

Moonstone will soon be releasing Threesome, a special edition 32-page comic book written by myself and New York Times best-selling author of Wicked, Nancy Holder. The story involves Nancy's charge the luscious 1930s pulp heroine The Domino Lady teaming up with the first appearance of my revamped pulp heroine The Golden Amazon--the original "Wonder Woman"-- in 70+ years, and my brand new character The Veil as they infiltrate a burlesque house in search of two kidnapped young women. The artwork is by Silvestre, a brilliant artist from Argentina. The book will also come in two special variant covers.

This was a thrilling book to work on. Seeing our words turned into pictures and the whole world of the 1930s and these three heroines come alive...well, for a kid who grew up reading comics there's still a kind of magic to it. Getting to create an actual comic book heroine was certainly a huge thrill, and having the honor to work with Nancy, one of the best writers in the business, and then be given one of the most talented graphic artists to bring words to four-color life is a dream come true.

So here's a sneak at a page from the actual book--the Golden Amazon makes her first new appearance in 70 years. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 15

2011-12-01T22:50:00.002-05:00

The full moon rises again over the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. Its glow turns the incoming waves to liquid alabaster.

Its pull is stronger in Autumn, the memories it brings more poignant and soul-wrenching...The Witching Moon. The Ghost Moon. The Demon Moon. All names it goes by, but they have one thing in common--they are a harbinger of Evil.

The ghost of the little girl with the face of my sister stands by the shore, the chilled waves lapping over her bare feet. She's wearing the yellow Easter dress she got for her seventh birthday. A strange smile washes onto her lips, as if she knows I am watching. The smile says she is allowing only a glimpse...And that glimpse foretells the terrifying events about to claim the days and nights of my tomorrows.

Then, she is gone, vanished like a figment of moonlight. But the portent of terror remains...

The dead are restless, the veil fragile, the time...too late...
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Dark December Dawns...

2011-12-01T14:49:00.002-05:00

With the coming of December the days grow much shorter and a chill sets in. The first week or two usually brings the first significant snowfall to the area and the ocean takes on a funereal gray.

While the Christmas lights come out and the signs of the season glitter in every window and store, a certain darkness lurks beneath the surface. The ghosts of the past, present and future begin to roam. Many folks feel the weight of the winter gloom and a haunting loneliness is embedded in the air scented with cinnamon and spruce.

I believe I have encountered ghosts in December. Been touched by the supernatural, as have many in this area. Many years ago, an uncle of mine whose supernatural claim to fame was an encounter with some mysterious Men in Black while working as a hypnotherapist on alien abduction cases (Dr. Herbert Hopkins, for those who want to look it up in paranormal journals) dealt with many patients in his medical practice suffering from depression during this time of year. And as a psychic minister with people claiming the spirits of their loved ones were trying to communicate with them.

Perhaps that's because this time of year brings with it so much emotion, both good and bad. Perhaps in makes the veil thinner and lost ones use the opportunity to reach out to us. I don't know.

Won't you join me in sharing your paranormal experiences in the comments section? Have you encountered more spirits at this time of year? Does haunting come with Holiday joy?

In honor of Dark December I will be running specials and giveaways on my own books and focusing on the more ghostly aspects of the season.

For Dark December The Chloe Files is at $2.99 on
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Chloe-Files-1/Howard-Hopkins/e/2940012513571

You can also save a dollar on my kids/YA book The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon on
Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Nightmare-Club-2/Howard-Hopkins/e/2940012860934

And for a very limited time before my new series launches for the new year, Dark Harbors, Twenty-nine tales of horror, the paranormal and macabre is only .99 cents on
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BYWAP8
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-harbors-howard-hopkins/1008499925

Happy Haunting...

Want to Reduce Stress? Read!

2011-11-30T14:37:00.002-05:00

A recent scientific study confirmed what I have long suspected -- reading can help reduce stress and lower blood pressure. As an author, I can't tell you how much that thrills me. It's nice to know every time somebody picks up a Chloe Files book Chloe is not only protecting the town of New Salem from ghosts and demons, but the reader from future heart problems!

Reading, according to the survey, forces you to focus and shut out worry and outside stresses. As I have said in this blog in the past, reading helps you escape everyday life concerns for a few hours, eases tension. The study reported that reading did indeed reduce muscle tension and slowed the heart rate.

Listening to music came in second, incidentally, so if you are one of those folks who likes to read with music playing in the background, you may no longer need those life insurance premiums.

So I wonder, does that make us authors fitness gurus? It would be nice to be a guru of some kind. It sounds cool being a guru. Yep, a new term -- Ocular Cognitive Guru. Or something.

Of course I recommend you pick up a Chloe Files or Nightmare Club book to start feeling better right this moment, but lots of wonderful authors out there need your support and you actually get a very positive health benefit back. Reading may not be quite as good as sex, but on the other hand you won't have to worry about BTDs...Book Transmitted Diseases. It's win-win, right?

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Introducing: Nerd from The Nightmare Club

2011-11-29T22:26:00.004-05:00

Name: Preston Winslow Wainwright "Nerd"

Born: February 22. Aged 10 1/2

Hometown: New Salem, Maine

Closest relatives: Father and mother, various aunts and uncles, cousins.

Nerd Facts: Nerd is the science brain of the group and likes bugs. He's always trying to make the perfect ant cup. He's a bit accident prone and has trouble relating to others. He is also the youngest member because he skipped two grades. He is allergic to nearly everything.

Occupation: Ghost chaser. Student. Budding scientist.

Starring Role:

The Nightmare Club #1: The Headless Paperboy
The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
The Nightmare Club #3: The Willow Witch

Author Comments: Nerd is an outcast from the start, and essentially a lonely child. His father is a doctor who gives him whatever he wants in terms of material possessions but seldom has time to interact with him personally. He does tend to get easily distracted and sometimes this causes "accidents" with his experiments.

Where everyday is Halloween!
The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

What Do You Fear Losing Most?

2011-11-29T12:28:00.002-05:00

That's a question that has plagued Chloe Everson, the heroine of my horror paranormal series The Chloe Files for most of her life.

At age seven she lost both her parents, then watched as her twin sister was taken away to a separate foster home. She never saw her again, and still relentlessly searches for her.

Chloe has also nearly lost her fiance on numerous occasions, as well as her own life. So, for her, it comes down to losing everything she has loved.

And that's a fear that most of us can empathize with. I know I can. Material things don't mean a lot; if they are lost they can usually be replaced. But we can't replace our loved ones when they are taken, and that fear resides in all of us at one time or another.

It's an unfair fear, because eventually we will lose our loved ones or they will lose us. It's a fact of life, though a sad one. Whether it be a spouse, relative, child or pet, losing someone you love is never easy, no matter how many people tell you they've gone to a better place. I believe that fear can often be paralyzing, and in a way I'm lucky that I can, in my stories, write about it and explore it through my characters.

Not that it is an easy thing to do, but in the quest for understanding life's often brutal turns, it's the best outlet I have.

Perhaps the best thing to do is couched the lyrics to an old song that goes, "Live every day every possible way/spend your time with your family and friends." Sometimes the best cure for the fear of losing someone is to keep them close and make the most of the time you do have with them.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Dark December Prelude Continues with Cyber Monday Paranormal Deals...

2011-11-28T13:20:00.003-05:00

Dark December Prelude continues for Cyber Monday with a brand new sale price of $2.99 on book #2 in The Nightmare Club series, The Deadly Dragon. Meet Orville Turner as he moves into the spooky cursed town of New Salem, Maine, and meets up with the strange bunch of misfits calling themselves The Nightmare Club. What is going on in the old deserted house on Tuttle Street? What's up with the mysterious ghost of the Dragon Boy anyway? And the town's resident bully, The Gibb, is up to his old tricks, but will they backfire on him again?
Find out in The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Nightmare-Club-2/Howard-Hopkins/e/2940012860934

And be sure to grab your copy of Dark Harbors, 29 tales of horror, the paranormal and macabre, on Kindle and Nook for the special Dark December price of .99 cents! This price won't last long, so act quickly.
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BYWAP8
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-harbors-howard-hopkins/1008499925

Also for Dark December, The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes is now just $2.99 on both Kindle and Nook. Join demon ass-kicker Chloe Everson as she fights the Evil invading the haunted streets of New Salem and searches for her lost sister.
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Chloe-Files-1/Howard-Hopkins/e/2940012513571

Secrets of The Chloe Files: Episode 14

2011-11-27T22:09:00.003-05:00

It's a chilly evening here in New Salem, Maine. The moon is the color of an old skull and the sea is lazy. Waves loll in, a masquerade...

It's on nights like this I miss my sister the most. We were separated at seven, sent to different foster homes. Or so I was told. I have doubts, now.

I've searched for her for too many years. Those doubts became solid when I encountered her ghost. Or what I am led to believe was her ghost.

I try to convince myself she's not gone...that she hasn't come back from the beyond the veil. It's not an easy lie to swallow. But in New Salem things...well, things aren't always black and white.

I won't stop searching until I find her...or whatever came to me as her spirit finds me first. I won't stop searching for the truth--the dark truth. Because she and I are more than we were told. Different, somehow. Our destinies entwined, our fates...fluid.

God help me, I just want her back alive...but I'll settle for a body...
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Dark December price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Dark December Prelude

2011-11-26T13:51:00.003-05:00

December -- the coming of winter and the chilled breath of the Dark Ones...What better month for ghosts and things that go bump in the night?

Dark December begins in a few days and through out the month I'll be offering special deals, spooky posts and giveaways of my horror and paranormal books through this blog, Twitter and Facebook. The ghosts of the past, present and future will come alive (so to speak) to haunt us all.

To start it off, a prelude: I have dropped the price on Dark Harbors for a very limited time only deal of .99 cents on Kindle and Nook, but you have to act fast. Dark Harbors is my short story and novella anthology of tales of horror, dark romance, and the macabre. Here you'll find sea entities, vengeful ghosts, haunting love, and even an animated wooden Indian with a mad-on. Journey through the haunted streets of Dark Harbor, Maine, but watch your step--there's danger and angry spirits lurking around every corner.

Buy Dark Harbors for 99c here:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BYWAP8
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-harbors-howard-hopkins/1008499925

Also available in Kindle at AmazonUK, AmazonDE and AmazonFR.

The Spider Returns!

2011-11-26T13:35:00.003-05:00

I'm proud to announce my graphic novel The Spider: The Iron Man War is now available from Moonstone Books and through your friendly neighborhood comic book shop. The graphic novel is based on Norvell Page's original pulp novel, Satan's Murder Machines, and is a rollicking, slam-bang adventure of the mysterious Iron Man, who sends giant iron robots rampaging through the streets of New York City. Those familiar with The Spider, The Master of Men, will know plenty of carnage, hair-raising escapes and breathtaking action ensures.

The artwork is painted in glorious noir double page spreads by award-winning artist J. Anthony Kosar and is just gorgeous. Moonstone outdoes itself in a glossy, beautifully produced book for only $7.99. This is the follow up graphic novel to my last month's release, Satan's Seven Samurai, done with artist Gary Carbon.

If you are a Spider fan, a pulp fan, or just a fan of exquisitely produced graphic novel collectibles, you'll want to check out this book. Available directly from Moonstone at http://moonstonebooks.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=920 (along with Satan's Seven Samurai). Check out Moonstone's sales while you are there!

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 13

2011-11-25T22:36:00.004-05:00

A single whisper can start a chain of evil on the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. Even on a bright fall day when the sun blazes amber across the receding tide.

A skeletal hand claws its way from a crack in the hardpacked sand. The hand once belonged to a young woman, a prisoner on a slave galleon. A woman named Hannah Bainbridge.

The galleon sank in a storm cast by the ignored pleas of the woman, whom the captain thought evil but did not hesitate to use at his wanton discretion. A supernatural storm conjured by the agony and grief of one whom the crew had raped until there was nothing more than an empty heart left.

And with that maiden's death, the man, if he could be called that, cursed himself and his lineage...throughout eternity.

To the man descended from that captain, who whispers the lost word, it is a game. A spell from an old book he discovers in a sea cave that he utters in mockery. He will soon learn different. His laughter will turn to screams.

Hannah Bainbridge has come back for him...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes
$2.99 on Kindle & Nook
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Black Friday Nook Paranormal Special

2011-11-25T00:29:00.004-05:00

If you read and enjoy this blog, please consider showing your support by buying THE CHLOE FILES, the first Chloe Everson paranormal horror novel, currently $2.99 on Amazon and now in honor of Black Friday reduced to the same price on Barnes and Noble. Avoid the crowded stores and mad crowds. Please click now and click often!

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Chloe-Files-1/Howard-Hopkins/e/2940012513571

Giving Thanks to Readers

2011-11-24T11:43:00.002-05:00

It's Thanksgiving morning here in the US as I write this, and to be quite honest with the last couple of years I've lived through there hasn't been a whole lot to give thanks for. I've seen friends and relatives pass from cancer, fought through personal disasters and overwhelming expenses, health issues with family and seemingly endless drama.

But that's life, right? We all go through it and we all do our best to push on and persevere.

Writing is a refuge for me, as difficult as it is at times, as discouraging as it is sometimes. Authors not only sweat blood and pull hair over their stories, then subsequent struggle to reach their audience, but also take comfort in the escape of writing them.

More important, however, is the escape they bring to others, and THAT, believe it or not loyal readers, uplifts us the most.

So on this day of thanks, special appreciation must go out to you readers out there who make what we do so worth the while. Your patronage and loyalty means everything to us and the chance to give something back, to entertain and draw you away from your worries for even a few moments means more than any ego boo ever could.

So a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported Miss Chloe Everson in her paranormal adventures in The Chloe Files, and who run with the kids in The Nightmare Club as they chase ghosts through the haunted streets of New Salem, Maine. Thank you for reading the other horror, western & comic books coming out of my addled brain and beaten on keyboard. I wish you the most pleasant and warmest of holidays today if you celebrate, and if you don't just a gracious thanks for coming along with the ride I offer through my writing. It may be bumpy, but the destination, I hope, is worth it.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle and Nook today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in paperback)

Introducing: October from The Nightmare Club

2011-11-23T22:30:00.003-05:00

Name: October Williams

Born: June 4. Aged 12

Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now: New Salem, Maine.

Closest relatives: His mother and father. His mother is a single mom. He never sees his father, who rarely came to visit even when they lived in Philly.

October Facts: October hates New Salem when he and his mother first move there. He is the one who is first chased by The Heedless Paperboy and recruited by The Nightmare Club to help stop the ghost from kidnapping kids. He loves the Phillies and argues with Allie, who loves the Yankees, a lot about baseball. But Moose is not the only member of the Club to have crush on Allie, though October keeps his a secret.

Occupation: Ghost chaser. Student.

Starring Role:

The Nightmare Club #1: The Headless Paperboy
The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
The Nightmare Club #3: The Willow Witch

Author Comments: October is a somewhat lonely kid who wishes his dad would visit, but knows that is unlikely to happen. His dad pretty much abandoned him and his mom. He has some trouble adjusting since he is the only black kid in school and bully "The Gibb" has it in for him from Day One after Allie sits with October on the bus. He is loyal to his friends and sticks up those considered "different." He's brave and not afraid to stand up for what he thinks is right.

Where everyday is Halloween!
The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

More Bang for your Paranormal Buck

2011-11-23T15:17:00.002-05:00

More horror, more paranormal, more escape? Let's see...

Ever noticed how the packages in the supermarket are getting smaller and the ounces are shrinking? Tuna cans have shrunk and cereal boxes contain less product. Yet the price has remained the same or risen--and technically remaining the same is relative, because less product for the same price means you're paying more anyway. This applies to everything from orange juice to cookies. While at the market today I even noticed the rutabagas were half the size for the a slightly higher price. And water injected into meats makes the price a bit more.

Case in point, Hersey's new aerated chocolate bar technically is...full of air. Less product with a nice marketing angle for the same price as the solid chocolate bar. (But in fairness it does taste pretty good!)

Of course this goes beyond food. DVD cases use thinner plastic and things use cheaper parts. On and on.

I don't know about you but it drives me a bit nuts. I'm not fond of the little tricks manufacturers use to make us think we are getting the same thing for the same price.

But one area actually gives you more value for your dollar lately, thanks to Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Book--books. While prices soar on most items, the cost of reading has plummeted--and that's a good thing, for both readers and authors.

As an author, I try to give as much value as possible to my readers for a reasonable, even rock bottom, price. No shaving off words while raising the cost ten cents. You get entire novels from anywhere from 99 cents to a few dollars. And depending on how fast you read, you get a few hours or a few days entertainment. Most authors are striving to provide maximum enjoyment for a small price. And I think that's refreshing in these poor economic times.

Of course, eating may be more essential to living...bit escaping worry and stress for a spell doesn't fall far behind. Readers are supporting the new renaissance in reading, and we, as authors owe them a huge thanks too. Who knows, perhaps the economy can be saved by reading!

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets of The Chloe Files: Episode 12

2011-11-22T22:42:00.003-05:00

The autumn afternoon is pregnant with the spirits of the craving in New Salem, Maine. They reach from behind the veil into the October sunlight...reach for a living vessel to fill with the essence of who they were. Even when what they were was a murderer named Galen Hawkins.

He was hanged close to the Ghost Coast shore 100 years ago. His lover watched his neck snap, heard the curse he uttered with his dying breath. He threatened to find his way back, make the descendants of those who accused him pay.

It did not matter he was wholly guilty of his crimes. What mattered was his living hate, the spirit of rage and bitterness of which he was composed.

That hate has waited, impatiently, these many years. Today it will escape its spiritual shackles and posses a man who grieves for a lost love.

It will destroy an innocent life and take others. A pity...
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Orie's Log 2

2011-11-22T13:03:00.003-05:00

Orville "Ace T" Turner's Nightmare Club Status Report...

October is finally off being grounded by his mom because he kept sneaking out to fight the Headless Paperboy. I bet she won't much like him going after a werewolf with us! He'll probably get grounded again. My mom would ground me too. So it's better she doesn't really know too much about we do in the Nightmare Club! But somebody's gotta keep New Salem safe, right? Even if it does always smells like clams.

We didn't hear the howling last night, though. Maybe because it wasn't a full moon. But there's another one coming up and we better figure out something fast. I overheard some kid at school say something about a blue creature being seen on the beach one night too. And about a house on the hill that use to be a funeral home having a ghost.

Oh-oh, Moose just discovered we painted his bike pink. I heard him yell. I gotta go!

See ya!

Where everyday is Halloween!
The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

Fat? So What!

2011-11-21T13:43:00.001-05:00

As a child of the '60s I come from a time when woman had curves--and men loved them for it.

The other day at the gym, I overheard a bit of conversation between a couple of young women standing at a weight machine...standing, not really working out much of anything other than their mouths. They were looking at another woman on a treadmill.

"Wow, she's fat," one of the women said.

"I know, right!" the other chimed in response. Their tones accentuated just how awful they thought that was. Never mind the fact that the woman in question was actually there exercising and trying to better herself while these two, pardon the expression, chewed the fat.

The woman on the treadmill was probably 5'5" and maybe 140 pounds. Fat? Really? And so what?

I get pretty tried of those who like to pick others apart for one thing or another. I'm sure it's some sort of insecurity on their own part, and or course some are just plain mean.

You are who you are and if you are taking care of your health, you should be proud of it, whether you weigh 100 pounds or 200. Curves are gooooooood.

And the same goes for whatever body type or style you may have. What others think doesn't matter. It is much more a reflection of their own insecurity than your attributes, and you should never give them the power to define your self-esteem. If they judge, they judge. We can't control what others are thinking or saying, no matter how stupid it is.

I'm sure the ass-kicking, demon-hunting heroine of my paranormal horror series The Chloe Files would be considered fat, too. Exotic dancer Chloe Everson's got T. She's got A. But she's also got C. C is confidence in her body and in not being afraid to use it. She doesn't care what others think. She is a strong woman, and though she is fictional, there's no reason this attitude can't apply to real life.

Does it hurt being judged? Hell, yeah. Should it? No. Because what others think is not your reality. Your reality is what YOU choose it to be.

So rock those curves and let the haters know they can't get you down.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Last Night I Dreamt I was Naked with an Ax...

2011-11-19T11:45:00.001-05:00

Well, not really, but the dreams of a writer can sometimes get a bit, er, unusual.

There's no disputing the power dreams can have over our lives. Many great works of literature, art and music came from the stuff of dreams. Dreams can inspire--or make you perspire. Some leaders have acted on dreams, beleiving in them so powerfully. It is said President Linocln even dreamed his own assasination before it happened.

Scientists have theories about dreams, that they are the mind sloughing off useless information, or emotional baggage we are unable to deal with. But in the end they still know precious little about dreams and the frontiers of the human mind.

As a writer dreams have occasionally inspired my works. I once dreamt a story called Hunger Pains (which appears in my short story anthology Dark Harbors, now available in Kindle, Nook & paperback), which was actually a nightmare, not a pleasant reve. At times I have dreamt solutions to plot problems in my writing, and at other times come up with ideas for new tales.

I tend to use dreams in my novels and short stories quite a bit, either in westerns or horror. Dreams can be interesting literary devices for building suspense and getting across subtle or not-so-subtle themes and attributes of a character. Demon-hunter Chloe Everson in my paranormal mystery/horror series The Chloe Files has some dream trouble, mainly in the form of a dark witch invading them and images of a ghost girl trying to tell her things she may not really want to know. She's also been naked in a street full of plague-infested rats and burning bodies in her dreams, but that story is told in Ashes to Ashes.

Paul Stanford, the protagonist from my horror novel Night Demons lives far too much of his life trapped in a recurring nightmare. His dreams lead him back to his home town and the dark secrets awaiting him there.

Dreams are powerful stuff. They have an almost supernatural feel to them to begin with. Sometimes you have to wonder, what if they are real? What if they are merely some alternate reality where the laws of physics are totally different? What if all fiction is real and has happened in the dimension of dreams and it is realtiy that's just made up?

And what stops us from plunging into that dream world and never returning?

Hmm, perhaps another tale to be written...or lived...

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 11

2011-11-18T23:02:00.002-05:00

There are nights in New Salem, Maine, when the moon bleeds. It rises bloated and crimson above the breakers tumbling in like liquid rubies. And stains the night with scarlet.

It is on these nights the old legends become real.

Listen...can you hear her? Catch of glimpse of her flying across the bloody face of the moon? Two-hundred years ago, in the dark days of October, she rode the night skies.

The New Salem Witch, newspapers called her. Children disappeared then, before her evil reign came to an end. But like I've said, things buried in New Salem don't stay buried. This Witching Season, with the veil thinning, she rides again. And parents will grieve...
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Teaser Train Thursday: Wyndano's Cloak by A.R. Silverberry

2011-11-17T01:24:00.006-05:00

It’s time to get aboard the Teaser Train. Today, Dark Bits welcomes author A.R. Silverberry. A.R. holds a BA in music and a PhD in psychology. Before he was old enough to write, he stole away with his mother to dictate a story. Early influences included fairy tales, the Oz books, all things Tolkien, and the spine-tingling tales of Robert E. Howard. Wyndano's Cloak, his first novel, has won a dozen awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award Gold Medal Winner for Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction, Books-and-Authors.Net Book of the Year Award for Fantasy/Fairy Tale genre, and the Readers Favorite Award Gold Medal for Preteen Fiction.

Here’s an excerpt from Wyndano's Cloak:

Alert, Jen backed away from the tree and studied it at a crouch. The air was still. The grass motionless. But the leaves stirred and fluttered. Words floated down. At first they were indistinct, as if someone called through a distant snowstorm. One word emerged clearly, and an icy finger traced down her spine.

She heard her name.

She backed away until she squatted on some rocks that extended into the pool. Every muscle—sun-hammered and wind-hardened like metal in a forge—was poised to spring. Phrases whispered down. The only sense she could make was that something was coming. Something dangerous.

She thought of her family. Fear tightened around her heart. She was a hair's-breadth away from running to them. Her feet stayed rooted to the spot. Maybe she'd hear more.

A small splash made her look at the pond. Two more followed, as if someone had thrown pebbles. Nothing had fallen into the water. But ripples spread out and ran into each other. More splashes erupted like tiny volcanoes, until the whole pool was agitated with colliding rings. A circle of calm emerged below Jen's feet, pushing the waves back. Pale and ghostly, a face rose from the muddy bottom of the pool until it floated just below the surface. Little hills and valleys lined the features of an old woman, as if olives lay under the skin.

"Medlara." Jen spoke under her breath, unwilling to believe her friend could hear her.

Medlara smiled, but her expression hardened. Words whispered from the pool. Jen leaned forward, straining to hear. She got little more than fragments, as if a storyteller jumbled the pieces of a tale. One phrase repeated, like a riddle. "If you meet . . . a harp, you must . . . If the worst happens, seek the answers—"

Jen dropped to her knees, hoping to catch more. Medlara's hands appeared just below her chin. She clasped them, and lifted her eyes as if she were imploring Jen. She mouthed two words. They might have been, "Forgive me."

Streaks of blue snaked and flowered in the water, as if someone had dropped in dye. Tendrils of mist rose from the surface and licked the ring of rocks. Soon the whole pool was covered. Spilling over the edge, the cloudy vapor surrounded Jen. She backed onto the shore, but the stuff sprouted up on all sides, walling her in, and formed a ceiling above. It crept along the ground until it met her feet. There it paused like an undulating sea.

Jen studied the mist. "She's trying to show me something. But what?"

There was no time to wonder. Fog rose before her like a giant shadow. Black. Forbidding…

She stepped back. Looked behind for an escape route. The fog surged forward and pulled her into the inky darkness. She could no longer feel the ground, as if everything solid and beautiful that she cared about was being ripped away. She tried to scream but terror rose from the pit of her stomach and froze in her throat.

The rest was a dizzy kaleidoscope of tilting and falling, of wandering lost, with no way out, no way home, no way back to a world of light and love, until the mist melted away and she collapsed, shaking in a pool of sweat.

Be sure to check out A.R.’s Amazon author page and pick up a copy of his novel:
http://www.amazon.com/A.R.-Silverberry/e/B005D5I9LE/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1321418376&sr=1-2-ent

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 10

2011-11-16T22:32:00.004-05:00

An ill wind blows in from the sea in New Salem, Maine. Rain beats steadily down with a sound like skeletons dancing.

Nothing is calm on the Ghost Coast this haunting season. The chilled autumn night is pregnant with the moans of the dead and the screams of the living.

Livia Hendricks dropped her cell phone while trying to record a video of her and her boyfriend trying various positions. She'd planned to upload it to a video site and send the link to his ex-girlfriend, whom she'd caught sending him secret texts. Nothing said, "Hands off, Bitch," like a sex vid. Right?

Except she'd ruined her phone and needed a new one.

That's why she was working late, to earn the money for a new Blackberry. Little did she know her boyfriend's ex would soon be able to move back in...

Because Livia Hendricks would not make it back to her car this dark rain-laced night. Though eventually, no longer living, she would get her revenge on her boyfriend's ex...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes
On Kindle, Nook and paperback
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

The Other 99% -- Indie Authors (or The Occupy Bestseller Movement)

2011-11-16T14:34:00.002-05:00

It's no secret that with the advent of Kindle and Nook, publishing is in a period of revolutionary change. The old models are in flux and the ebook revolution has opened up a whole new playing field for authors and readers of independent literature.

And rightfully so. Within Indie lit you can find stories that are creative, innovative and tell their tales out of the box, or out of the book, as the case may be.

As you may guess, there's some resistance to this from mainstream publishers, many of whom who have been a little late to the ebook table and run on outdated business models. That's understandable, because it's their business and they have had the cake for many years.

You'll also see a lot of pot shots taken at self-published and Indie books and authors. Some of it is well deserved, some of it is not. Perhaps one of the bigger complaints I have seen is poorly edited books. Unfortunately some of that is true, but here's something to consider. I am reading a book that has been on the top of the NY Times bestseller list. I won't give the title or author because I love the book and writer and tearing down a hardworking author isn't my point (and for the record, I don't subscribe to the Us vs Them mentality prevalent with too many authors and publishers on both sides. Authors are authors and publishers are publishers, as far as I am concerned). On one page of this book I picked out four grammatical errors. On the next page I discovered a paragraph formatting error that ran two characters' dialog together, making it a bit difficult to figure out who said what on first reading. This from a major publisher. And the same complaint most prevalent with Indie books. It happens. Point is, it can happen in any book, regardless of whether it is Indie or Legacy, despite our best efforts.

I have seen some calls for Amazon to vet books. I disagree. I think that would take the self out of self-publishing and make a seller the arbiter of quality. In my opinion, the arbiter of quality is the person reading the book, and Amazon already has See Inside the ebook and downloadable samples in place so the prospective buyer can make that decision for his/herself.

In the end I feel it comes down to: stop bickering and start enjoying. The playing field will never be totally level as long as big publishers can throw money behind book launches and advertising for their clients, and pay for top editors and typesetters, etc. Which is fine and as it should be--as long as they are above board about it and not arranging behind the scenes deals to squeeze out little publishers and self-publishers. As a western writer, I'm pretty familiar with that happening in the Wild West cattle industry. And right now the publishing field is a bit of Wild West.

On the other hand, Indie publishers and writers must be responsible for producing the best book of which they are capable. You want to be a pro? Put out pro work. That does not mean spending thousands on production, but it doesn't mean throwing up a work without any editing or formatting, either. Matter of pride, anyway.

It also comes down to the most important factor: Readers. Authors/publishers, never disrespect your readers. They are smarter than you are and they know what they like. It's up to you to give it to them and present them with your best. They deserve that, because they are the ones plunking down their hard-earned cash and spare time. It's up to us, as authors, to give them their money's worth and take them away from their problems for a little while.

This is the crux of the Occupy Bestseller Movement (or OBM), I believe. Give readers the entertainment your talent allows, and give them your time when they talk or write to you. The relationship with your readers does not stop at the end of the book. They are the reason you are writing. I saw one author recently say he "had no time to talk to people and form any kind of relationship with them." Uh, really? Pardon me, but that's bullshit. If you can't take time to form a relationship with your readers, then why should they bother taking time to read your crap?

And readers, please give your support to Indie authors who work exceptionally hard to bring you their best. Trying to sell books, for authors, is often like trying to make a hole in a car door with a water pistol. Authors need your help, your word of mouth and reviews on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. You are the torch carriers, the ones who set up the tents on the bestseller list grounds.

So let's work to get Indie authors you enjoy to the bestsellers lists. Occupy and entertain!

If you are a reader or writer of Indie lit, please join the Occupy Bestseller Movement group page on Facebook and discuss your favorite Indie works: http://www.facebook.com/groups/316396698376237/#!/groups/316396698376237/

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Introducing: Moose from The Nightmare Club

2011-11-15T23:02:00.003-05:00

Name: Moose Turcot

Born: May 11. Aged 12.

Hometown: New Salem, Maine

Closest relatives: His father was a marine killed in action and his mother's whereabouts are unknown. He was adopted by an older couple after being sent to a foster home after his father died.

Moose Facts: Moose is big for his age and tends to be clumsy. He is usually thinking about food, especially Chips Ahoy cookies. One of his ears looks chewed on. He loves Captain America comic books and frequently gets into good-natured arguments with Sparks, one of the other group members. He has a crush on Allie and owns a pet potbellied pig named Barnabas, whom he teaches to do naughty things, like throw up in the other group members' shoes.

Occupation: Ghost chaser. Student.

Starring Role:

The Nightmare Club #1: The Headless Paperboy
The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
The Nightmare Club #3: The Willow Witch

Author Comments: Moose is the brawn of the group and even the school bully The Gibb pretty much stays out of his way. Moose misses his dad quite a bit, though he loves the older couple who adopted him. He usually has a flattop haircut he thinks is hereditary, but is trying to let it grow out now.

Where everyday is Halloween!
The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

This and That: Author Updates

2011-11-15T12:44:00.005-05:00

Item: Hell on Hoofs, the latest hardcover Black Horse Western under my penname Lance Howard, is now scheduled for a January release. The cover is up and I think it's pretty darn cool this time around. See what you think. Y'all will get a chance to read what the editor called one of the "bleakest" Westerns ever. I corrected the galleys a few weeks back and it seemed fairly tame to me, but of course I am a horror writer, too. It is a very emotional and suspensful page-turner.

The blurb:

John Laramie rode into Lancerville, looking to escape his old life as a man-hunter, and settle down. But a life of serenity may not be on the cards. When a young woman seeks his help to get rid of a vicious outlaw, he's torn between the dark demons of his past and hope for a brighter future. Fate, however, makes the choice for him when the murderous Cross Gang attacks him and just misses the target - putting the life of the young woman in dire jeopardy. With Laramie forced into a deadly showdown, will it cost him more to win than it would to lose?

Available from AmazonUK, The Book Depository (free worldwide shipping) and http://www.halebooks.com/

Item: It has been my privelge to edit and write a tale for a brand new Sherlock Holmes short story anthology for Moonstone Books called Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook. The Casebook teams the Great Detective with some of fiction and history's most interesting characters to help solve a mystery. Lawrence of Arabia, the Great and Powerful OZ, Arsene Lupin, and Calamity Jane, to name a few. We also have a sequel to The Sign of The Four and a brilliant cover painting. The book has just gone to prepress for a Dec/Jan release and in my humble opinion contains some truly excellent writers and stories. If you're a Holmes fan, you won't want to miss this one. You can preorder it now from Amazon.

Item: In October I put a bow around two new short stories involving two of media's most enduring and cherished characters, The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. My Lone Ranger tale is called Denial and involves the masked man and his faithful companion with a the fate of a young Comanche woman held prisoner by a brutal husband. My Hornet tale pits the Emerald Crime Fighter against my very own creation Laura Cavendish, The Yellowjacket, for possibly the very last time in a tale called Revenge of The Yellowjacket. This will complete the Yellowjacket trilogy. Both anthologies will be forthcoming from Moonstone books in 2012.

Item: Speaking of The Masked Rider of the Plains, most now know I have written a new Lone Ranger novel called Vendetta. Vendetta pits the Ranger against someone who appears to be an enemy from his past, one who will have repercussions for not only his future but for his great nephew's...you'll have to read the book to figure out why. This is the true Lone Ranger set in an adult gritty tale of the Wild West and will be out in February in paperback for only $4.99. You can preorder it now from Amazon. The cover was specially designed and rendered by the amazing Doug Klauba, whose brilliant work has appeared on many paperback books.

Item: And while I'm on the subject of brilliant artwork, my widescreen graphic novel The Spider: Satan's Seven Samurai hits comic shops tomorrow or can be directly ordered from http://www.moonstonebooks.com/ The artwork is exquisitely painted double page spreads by Gary Carbon, truly a genius in his work. The tale was originally penned by Norvell Page, The Spider's primarily writer, and adapted by yours truly. It's one of the '40s tales where The Spider races against time to prevent the Japanese from destroying New York City and invading the US--months before Pearl Harbor!

Item: Also at press now from Moonstone, another Spider widescreen graphic novel The Iron Man Wars, written by me and painted by J. Anthony Kosar. Anthony's paintings blew me away and I'm sure they will you, too.

Item: My upcoming special edition comic book Threesome, written with New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Nancy Holder reaches comic shops soon. Lettering is nearly finished. This includes the first appearnace of my pulp heroine, The Veil, and my revamped Golden Amazon.

The blurb:

When young women vanish at a sleazy burlesque club, three beautiful heroines slip undercover and out of their clothes to investigate--and wind up confronting a kidnapper who just might be out of this world! Featuring the delicious Domino Lady, the first appearance of the deadly Golden Amazon in 70 years and introducing the voluptuous new pulp crime-fighter, The Veil.

Item: Work begins this week on a novella for the upcoming Nightbeat anthology from Radio Archives, edited by Tommy Hancock. Nightbeat was an acclaimed 1950s noir radio drama about a newspaper reporter working the Nightbeat and running across violent crime. More on this as it progresses.

Item: Work has also begun on the Honey West short story anthology for Moonstone, as well as The Avenger #3: Tales from Bleek Street.

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins on Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Ghost Stories -- Got Ghosts?

2011-11-14T15:15:00.002-05:00

I love ghost stories.

In my paranormal series The Chloe Files, though it is primarily urban horror, I always try to include a ghost story for that reason. The second book in the series, Sliver of Darkness, is essentially a chilling and emotional ghost story. The same goes for my children's spooky series The Nightmare Club. The second book, The Deadly Dragon, revolves around a ghost.

Ghost stories have been around for as long as humankind has been able to tell tales. Under the stars around a blazing campfire, cowboys related tales of strange and mysterious occurrences in the West and the Victorian era was certainly resplendent with spooky stories.

I think most of us at one time have had some sort of brush with the ghostly. I have, and that translates to my characters. Who hasn't glimpsed something out of the corner of their eye in a dark hallway or heard a whispered voice in the dead of night?

I think we want to believe in ghosts because if they exist--while giving us a scare--it gives us a sense that death is not the end. That something of us lives on. I'm not sure about the part about being stuck here, since it would be nice to move up the ladder, but ghosts carry a sense of wonder and awe, along with the spooky aspect.

And they make great fiction. Some of the best stories include ghosts, from Dickens' A Christmas Carol to Peter Straub's Ghost Story.

Growing up, I have fond memories of ghost stories on TV, even from very early childhood. Two of the most frightening ghosts I recall seeing as a child came from the gothic soap Dark Shadows. One was the first appearance of Quentin Collins in a rocking chair in a young woman's room in the dead of night and another was the ghost of Gerard Stiles haunting a deserted Collins mansion. Then there was the short-lived NBC show Ghost Story, which had, for its time, some very chilling episodes about the ghost of a twin and a woman getting even with her husband for killing her via appearances on a haunted TV set. And of course Night Gallery, The Sixth Sense TV show and a host of others.

Do you believe in ghosts? Like ghost stories? Have a tale to tell?

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Orie's Log

2011-11-13T22:46:00.003-05:00

Orville "Ace T" Turner's Nightmare Club Status Report...

Things are getting even creepier in New Salem since that Willow Witch thing. We've heard a strange howling every night since. I think we have another ghostly mystery--Woo ha! If it's a werewolf, I'm feedin' that Gibb bully to him. Just sayin'! He tried to stuff Sparks into a locker again at school Friday. Lucky I came along in time. Sparks is a small kid but it was a half locker. What's with that doofus, anyway? I mean, a kid who thinks he's Elvis or something?

Oh, Nerd almost set the entire clubhouse on fire. Again. You'd think a kid that smart would be more careful. But he's kinda absent-minded. Those smart kids. He can do all these equations in his head but he can't remember to turn a Bunsen Burner off. Sigh.

Oh, no. Barnabas Just ate all Moose's Chips Ahoys. You know Barnabas is a pig, right? No, I mean a real pig. A potbellied one. He's usually just sleeping but Moose was dumb enough to leave his cookies sitting on the table next to a chair. Who knew pigs could climb? And he didn't leave me any! He's a pig, all right.

I have to go to school so I better stop writing. We're going looking for the werewolf tonight. I don't think it's a good idea but I was outvoted.

See ya!

Where everyday is Halloween!
The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

The Chloe Files and The Nightmare Club Official Facebook Fanpage Pages Announcement

2011-11-13T15:30:00.001-05:00

My paranormal horror series The Chloe Files and my children's spooky series The Nightmare Club now have their very own official Facebook Fan Pages. Keep abreast of the latest news and exclusive series contests, giveaways, interviews and more. Simply go to the page and click "Like" to become a a Chloephile and/or Nightmare member. Don't miss a single series update. Here are the links:

The Nightmare Club Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Nightmare-Club/136419519798362?sk=wall

The Chloe Files Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chloe-Everson-The-Chloe-Files/154482531316709

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 9

2011-11-12T23:08:00.003-05:00

The sun is shining again in New Salem, Maine. It's chased away the chilled mist...but cannot banish the Evil pervading this town.

The woman jogging along the beach is mercifully oblivious to the forces sizzling in the sea air. Her name is Melissa Enright. She's young, impetuous, corrupted with the invincibility of youth.

Until a cloud passes across the face of the sun...and a bony hand thrusts through the damp sand and snatches her ankle.

Shock prevents her from screaming, as the thing beneath the surface pulls her under. She leaves behind an iPhone, a grieving boyfriend and a terrier, whose tail she dyed pink just last night.

Her boyfriend will not grieve for long. She'll return for him. A bit worse for wear. The happy ending they'd dreamed to their romance will be somewhat darker than they expected.

Things like that happen all too often on the Ghost Coast...
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Appreciating Readers

2011-11-12T13:44:00.003-05:00

More than likely at one time or another you have stumbled across somebody you were a fan of, whether singer, artist, writer or athlete, who turned out to be a dick. Perhaps you approached the cherished one for an autograph and either he/she wanted to charge you some exorbitant sum or blew you off completely (and I'm not talking about those radical fans who slither under a bathroom stall for an autograph.) Perhaps you wrote the cherished one an email and he/she couldn't be bothered to respond. Or have the staff respond. Perhaps you said a cheerful hi to this person and he/she gave you the Christian Bale treatment.

Whatever the incident, it's a pretty awful feeling to have someone you admire and look up to give you the brush off. I've had it happen with a writer or two myself.

And I'm here to tell you...those people do not deserve your patronage and support. It's as simply as that. If they can't find a moment for a reader, they have no business being authors, in my opinion.

Of course I am talking about those who do this intentionally because they think they are too good to get down with us little folk. Not the ones who may be too shy or who are crushed under horrendous schedules or threatened by obsessive fans. But seriously, if they aren't Stephen King or Stephanie Meyer, that excuse becomes a bit more problematic.

As a writer I LOVE my awesome readers. THEY are my extended family. And in many cases I would rather have them at Thanksgiving dinner with me than a lot of my relatives. I appreciate ALL my readers. Authors are nothing without them. It's not a difficult concept to grasp, though those boneheaded writers who mistreat their fans/readers seem to have a problem understanding it.

And, really, in the end people are more important than any sense of inflated self-importance some of these "stars" might have.

Readers are who we writers are writing for. There is no greater feeling than to have a reader tell you they loved your work and want to read more. To want actually to discuss the work with you and treat your characters as if they are real people (which is really cool, because we writers don't really enjoy being alone in our delusions!)

I think anyone with fans should do their best to remain accessible to them. Not obsessed stalker fans, but REAL fans, folks who take the time to write genuine heartfelt letters or walk up and tell you they enjoyed your story.

I guess it might boil down to two types of writers--those who write for their ego and those who write to make another's life a bit better through entertainment.

An example: There's a particular singer I like, a guy from Holland. For a number of years I ran a fan page dedicated to him and the group he fronted. One day, he stumbled across that page and wrote me a friendly email thanking me and told me anytime I felt like writing him I could. I can't tell you how that thrilled me at the time. And set an example for me in my own career. I'm sure he had better things to do than drop a note to some nerd fanboy he didn't know, but the fact that he did impressed the hell out of me.

So, I guess what I would like to end with, awesome readers, is a huge THANK YOU for all the support you've given my books, The Chloe Files, The Nightmare Club and the rest. Without you I'd have no reason to write them. I may not be Stephen King, but as long as I have a few people who enjoy what I do, I'm as rich as he is. You guys rock.

"I know how it feels to lose someone you love...My parents died when I was seven, and I watched people I didn't know take away my twin sister. The last thing I remember was her face and hand pressed to the back window as the car drove off. That was almost thirty years ago. I never saw her again. Until today.
Today...I saw her ghost."
--Chloe Everson

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(also in Nook and paperback)

Thanks to the Heroes

2011-11-11T14:30:00.001-05:00

I talk a lot about Chloe Everson from my paranormal series The Chloe Files being a hero. And she is. She faces the Big Bad like nobody's business.

But she is, alas, a fictional hero, a paper tigeress.

However, there are fine men and women in this nation who are real heroes. Those who have fought, often at the cost of their very lives or limbs, to keep us safe from threat and dictatorship. Our men and women of the armed forces who sacrifice every single day, whether at home or on foreign soil, to protect us and make this nation a shining example of freedom.

Today, we celebrate those who have given so much so selflessly. We give thanks. Please take a moment from your busy schedule and remember their contributions to the life you are lucky enough to lead in freedom, the rights you have to speak your minds and privileges that come with living in a free nation.

And thank them. Visit a veterans home and give them a bit of your precious time. Or visit a local cemetery and just say a few words in remembrance.

To all those who have served and serve still--I thank you. I fight battles on paper, in my books, through my characters. You fight the real battles. You are the real heroes.

Salute.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Shame on You, Joe Paterno

2011-11-10T14:43:00.002-05:00

It's a sad fact of life sometimes the folks we hold up as heroes and worship in the end turn out to be only human. Perhaps we simply gild the person too much with their accomplishments and the heroic things we feel they do. Perhaps we are just merely so hungry for true heroism nowadays we put gold crowns on rotted teeth.

Best to remember the men and women we hold up as heroes, whom we or our children chose to look up to, are just that, men and women. With all the faults that come with being a human being.

Most are forgivable. Human weakness exists in all of us. We all make mistakes and unfortunately we live in a society where too many are too quick to judge the moment some smear comes out on the news, especially if we don't like that person or his/her viewpoints in the first place.

But there is a place I personally draw the line. And that is with abuse, either of a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend, or with children or animals.

Which makes Penn State Coach Joe Paterno's transgression all the more distressing, in my opinion. This is a man long held as a hero amongst college football fans, and is even exemplified as such by non-fans and writers. His accomplishments within his arena and outspokenness have been refreshing and shining examples of a hero.

Which makes his part in the case of a molestation of boys by a close friend/colleague all the more egregious. He's not the only one at fault, certainly, but he bears some responsibility, perhaps more than is fair, because of his history and position.

Yes, he said something to the college. Once. But he said nothing to the police. And no matter how much I like or respect the man...that's just wrong.

Often we are afraid to do the right thing, whether from fear of losing a job, or angering or losing a friend or relative. Or perhaps fear we will be punished or hurt by the perpetrator of the crime. And these things certainly happen.

Paterno does not really have that excuse. He was in a position to report this to the police and did not. The trail of victims...did he give thought to them and what trauma they were put through by a man who was entrusted to guide and lead them? He was Paterno's friend, ok. I get that. But sometimes you just have to do what's right, no matter how much grief it brings down upon yourself.

That's the definition of courage, of being a hero. It's plain this man so many looked up to no longer fills that bill. And, rightfully, if hypocritically, he was fired. To the protesters with their heads jammed up denial's ass, tipping over vans, stop a moment and really think about it. What if it were you or a loved one who was molested and the guy you worshiped didn't go all the way for you? I understand your position. Really, I do. I can't stand to see my heroes fall, or be proved all too human. Part of that is unfair expectations on my part, and I realize that. I forgive them a lot. But his behavior, and your behavior--this is the reason so many victims bear their suffering in silence. Please, at least think about it and put yourself in the molested person's place.

In the end football is only a game. And that game, or the money and school pride involved, should never become more important than a human life and doing what is right, what is courageous. Shame on you, Joe, for letting down those of us who looked up to you as a hero. We trusted you. Those boys trusted you.

Who do we look up to now?

Secrets of The Chloe Files: Episode 8

2011-11-09T22:44:00.004-05:00

Gray mist shrouds the old streets of New Salem, Maine. It carries the chill touch of death, the searing embrace of damnation.

A young woman hurries along the back streets near the waterfront. She smells the perfume of the sea in the air, spiced with the decay of autumn leaves. At one time she enjoyed days like this, took comfort in the gray. It reminded her of her home in England, and walks with a man for whom she'd cared.

But this day she feels no comfort. Because she knows that man is here now, calling to her in the mist.

Two years ago she would have been overjoyed at that prospect. But not this day. Because she buried that man six months after they moved to this god-forsaken town.

In New Salem, the grave is but an inconvenience...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...The dead are waiting...
The Chloe Files by Howard Hopkins
Kindle, Nook and paperback
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

The Shadow Knows...

2011-11-09T14:22:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in a blog the other day, old time horror radio shows had quite an influence on my writing career. They forced you to use your imagination, conceive in your mind the things lurking in the dark. Trust me, your mind can conjure far more terror than any particular event or scene from a movie. What we can't see is often much more terrifying than what we can, and what we can imagine is often far more horrible than what sits in front of us. Radio was the perfect medium for that.

The piece led to a conversation on Twitter with horror author Carrie Green, who cited the same influence with her own writing. I also learned we had the same favorite radio show.

Remember those special moments in your life, mostly occurring as a child, when some book of TV show or song createed a warm nostalgic impression that has lasted a lifetime? Those moments can color your tastes for the rest of your days. We've all experienced them. I've been lucky enough to have a number of them.

One particular radio show was one of those moments for me.

The year was 1968 and I was a seven-year-old kid complaining about how early I had to go to bed. In those days we actually did go to bed when our parents told us to...or else.

But on a Thursday night (why I recall the night when I can't recall what happened last week is beyond me), a little past nine, my father came into my bedroom with his old radio. I always thought this radio was cool because it had a shortwave setting, and many a times I sat listening to peoples of other languages chatter away. Yes, I was a strange kid. Nevermind that.

My dad knew of course I wouldn't be asleep and after he came in with that radio I probably didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

A local station was airing some of the reruns of an old radio show, and he thought I might like it. He was right. But I didn't just like it, I loved it. The menacing laugh, the creepy situations and a character who "clouds men's minds so they cannot see him."

I'm talking about The Shadow, of course, the mysterious star of 325 pulp novels from 1931 to 1949, and lead character of a radio show that aired over a thousand episodes from 1937 to 1954. Not only did the show garner me an invitation to stay up past my bedtime every Thursday night, it influenced me for a lifetime in writing and reading. My favorite Shadow actors were Bill Johnston and Brett Morrison, but probably the most notable was a young Orson Welles, who played the role, for all intents, first, along with Agnes Moorehead of Bewitched fame, who stepped in as Margot Lane, The Shadow's lovely friend and companion.

Not only did The Shadow influence my horror writing, but also the love of a number of such characters, many of whom I have been lucky enough to write over the past couple years, such as The Avenger, The Spider, The Green Hornet and The Lone ranger. But more than that, The Shadow worked on suspense and genuine creepiness, and telling a story through dialog. Modern writers can learn a lot from the show, and from all old radio shows.

The Shadow novels are all being reprinted in double volumes monthly by Sanctum Books. The books include a lost show radio script as well. I had the thrill of reading Vampires Prowl by Night last night. And if you are interested in the old shows, Radio Spirits (http://www.radiospirits.com/) is issuing them in fine CD sets. Radio Archives (http://www.radioarchives.com/) sells the books, as do local comic book stores and many other retailers.

If you haven't heard these shows, give them a try. I suggest The Terrible Legend of Crownsheild Castle, a great Shadow ghost story. It inspires the horror writer in me, and thrills the awed seven-year-old with a love of ghost stories.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Introducing: Bob from The Chloe Files

2011-11-08T23:02:00.003-05:00

Name: Bob the Capuchin

Born: Date unknown. Aged: 600

Hometown: Chi Chi, South America

Closest relatives: None. They all died centuries ago.

Bob Facts: Bob is rumored to have belonged to Joan of Arc. He is 600 years old and as his "owner" Genie Lansing says, he "gets over dying." He is addicted to Kent cigarettes and Hills Bros coffee and is often at odds with Ms. Lansing when it comes to providing clues to Chloe about ongoing paranormal investigations. He is not fond of cats in general, Puddin' Head in particular..

Occupation: Monkey. Pain in the ass.

Starring Role:

The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes
The Chloe Files #2: Sliver of Darkness

Author Comments: Bob may or may not be an actual monkey. Only time will tell. He does seem to posses some kind of supernatural power, much like the witch's familiar, the black cat.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Would You Like Some Cheese?

2011-11-08T16:01:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to hate the word cheesy. About as much as I dislike the term "bubblegum" when applied to a certain music style.

Not that the word cheesy is bad in and of itself. After all, one person's Cheese Whiz is another's Brie.

It's more the implied insult that comes with the word when applied by some folks who think only the books, movies, music they enjoy has merit. It's a snobbery, and I dislike snobbery in any form. Just what makes them the arbiter of cheese is a mystery. Just what makes the crap they like caviar (which FISH EGGS, so, really, how cool can that be, anyway?) is also a question.

There are plenty of things I don't particularly like reading. Twilight is one of them. But millions of Twi fans do like it so who am I to judge? I have my opinions but so what? If you enjoy it, read it, watch it, listen to it and make no apologies.

I s'pose for me it's mostly just a pet peeve that stems from back to my school days. I was never particularly mainstream. I liked different things, sometimes older things, atypical music, books, shows. And got criticized constantly. The other week I overheard a friend of my niece's criticizing just about every little detail about a particular older show I liked. It shouldn't have annoyed me but it reminded me just why I disliked school and narrow-minded people who love to build their self-esteem by tearing down others or things others like. You don't like them, don't read, watch, listen. I don't and never did see the sense of wasting time putting down other's taste (and I'm not talking about a simple teasing/joking, goofing on something. I am talking about the mean-spirited stuff and anything with a snobbish implication.)

So readers, enjoy what you enjoy and pay the haters no mind. It's your cheese, savor it.

Come to think of it, this post is a bit cheesy, so I'll stop now and go pull the pink flamingoes off my lawn...

Reviewers have compared The Chloe Files with The Dresden Files & Odd Thomas -- read what you've been missing. Become a Chloephile now. Kindle, Nook & paperback...

Do you believe?
The Chloe Files by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Politics This, Politics That, Down on your Knees and Open Your Trap...

2011-11-08T12:18:00.002-05:00

Man, I don't know about y'all, but I am fed up with politicians, political bickering, campaign ads and false promises, referendums up the ass and everything else that goes with the now seemingly endless political season.

Remember when it only lasted a couple months before voting? No, I don't, either. The same old bang 'em with a constant message interviews, avoidance of answering the actual questions and reporters on one side or the other in the bag for their political philosophy.

The common answer is usually "well, if you don't like it, vote them out." Tried that. They keep coming back, like herpes. And even the ones you do vote in get to Washington and flip flop or end up ground up by the machine.

I've become entirely frustrated at the barrage of politics on ALL news channels everyday (and the alternative isn't much better because it's either some kind of disaster or the latest stupidity about Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian or Justin Bieber's clone baby). Anyone with a fresh message, or, God forbid, actual integrity, doesn't stand much of a chance.

And if one more idiot calls me at 10pm looking for a vote I am going to jam the phone up their ballot box.

Good God, if aliens tuned into the network and cable news stations, they would think the entire earth is composed of squabbling politicians, terrorists and Snooki. And the sad part is, Snooki might be the least offensive...well, ok, that's a stretch, but you get the idea.

Ah, well, it's still the best we've got when it comes to governments and freedom of speech. It just gets exhausting sometimes. Cable and the Internet have just made it more accessible 24/7, because political rhetoric and mudslinging have always existed (sometimes pretty viciously if you check out what some of the early congress was saying about their opponents). I've reached saturation point personally.

And my answer to that is to go read a book and escape for a few hours. Surely Sookie's up to something a lot more interesting than baby-kissing...

Today is Election Day. Are you tired of the same old political claptrap and referendums?
Then fugitaboutit! Vote Chloe and get some bang for your buck. Her platform is simple: Dispose of all demons--now! (And if that happens to include a politician or two, well, meh). She promises to help you escape the endless political commercials and door bangers. So exercise your right to read and pull the Chloe lever at Amazon or Barnes and Noble before you are stuck with unwanted supernatural Big Bads.

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets of The Chloe Files: Episode 7

2011-11-07T22:43:00.003-05:00

Autumn has come to the shores of the Ghost Coast, New Salem, Maine. Leaves are touched with blood and gold. The scent of decay claws at the salt air, but that's nothing new. Something's always in a state of decomposition in this cursed town.

With the autumn, the veil between the living and the dead thins even more. On chilled nights when the moon turns the color of bone...those longing to be free roam the empty beach. Pity the unwary soul foolish enough to walk the sands on nights like that.

They won't be seen again...alive...
--Chloe Everson

Tomorrow is Election Day. Are you tired of the same old political claptrap and referendums? Then fugitaboutit! Vote Chloe and get some bang for your buck. Her platform is simple: Dispose of all demons--now! (And if that happens to include a politician or two, well, meh). She promises to help you escape the endless political commercials and door bangers. So exercise your right to read and pull the Chloe lever at Amazon or Barnes and Noble now.

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Fear on the Radio

2011-11-07T15:20:00.001-05:00

One of the biggest influences on me as a paranormal/horror writer was old time radio horror shows. They taught me a lot about building suspense and how what you can’t see is often more terrifying than what you can.

In my paranormal mystery series The Chloe Files and many of my horror novels, I work hard to generate terror based on characters reaction to the unknown, the unseen, the thing that lurks in the darkness.

And few mediums did that better than horror and suspense radio.

From the 1930s through the early ‘50s, radio drama was king. There was no television, though there were serials and movies—Universal producing some of the best classic horror movies ever—and, of course, pulps as forms of inexpensive entertainment. But radio was free, and simply required you to use your imagination. Radio horror harkened back to spooky tales told ‘round the campfire, and added sound effects and eerie music to the mix. And a powerful mix it was. Who can forget how Orson Welles terrified a nation through the medium with the October 30, 1938 Halloween broadcast of The War of the Worlds?

Perhaps the granddaddy of them all was The Inner Sanctum. Preceded by the eerie sound of creaking door, each episode delved into horror that ran the gamut from monsters to psychological terror. Many of the shows are as bone-chilling today as there were when first broadcast (And the show was certainly a huge inspiration to the 1970s CBS Radio Mystery Theater hosted by E.G. Marshall, which also began with the ominous creaking door and ran along the same storylines). Radio Spirits (www.radiospirits.com) carries Inner Sanctum episodes on CD along with most of the other shows I will mention.

A number of other shows shivered across the airwaves, scaring the hell out of a nation of listeners in those days before the coming of television. Weird Circle, The Sealed Book, Horror in the Air, The Hermit’s Cave, The Witch’s Tale with Alonzo Dean Cole and Suspense (which numbered among its stars President Ronald Reagan). But perhaps the scariest and most gruesome of them all was Lights Out.

Lights Out was unabashedly horror. It ran from 1934 to 1947 (and made the transition eventually to television), delivering grisly stories mixed with dark, tongue-in-cheek humor. Unfortunates on the show were buried or skinned alive, eaten, absorbed by a giant amoebas, had various limbs ripped off by robots, tortured and decapitated--always with a heaping helping of blood-curdling sound effects. It was surprisingly—sometimes sickeningly—graphic for its time. Though the show is most closely associated with Arch Oboler it was begun by Wyllis Cooper, who wrote many of the scripts, and originally ran at midnight. The show was nothing to listen to with the kiddies.

I can only imagine how frightening it must have been, sitting around the radio in a dark room at the Witching Hour, listening to these macabre radio dramas. I doubt anything in today’s jaded blood-and-guts movie world can match the genuine scares these shows dredged up.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today.
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

What Started You Reading?

2011-11-06T13:39:00.002-05:00

I've always disliked November.

I love October, with its vibrant leaves and autumn scents, apple picking, and, as a paranormal horror writer, especially Halloween.

I like December for all the colorful things that go along with Christmas.

But November. November is often dreary, cold and bleak here in Maine. Leaves are gone and lifeless looking trees signal the advent of winter. Thanksgiving does little for me.

But November has one special thing that makes me pine nostalgic. It was the month I discovered my love of reading, which eventually led to writing.

It was 1973. We had a couple local department stores--Mammoth Mart (loved this because of Marty the big light-up elephant on the roof), Grants with its soda fountain that was pretty cool--and that's about it. So you might imagine it was a big deal when the first mall was built.

It was on a November day the weekend before Thanksgiving. Snow was sputtering from a bullet-colored sky. But my parents took us--my sister and I--to the mall on a late Saturday afternoon. And to a Waldens bookstore within the mall.

I think it was the first time I'd been in a real bookstore. I'd been getting comic books from the turn rack at a small supermarket and a newspaper store in the area, but never paid much attention to books. I think the books my father had read to me when I was younger came from some mail order club.

I recall being a bit overwhelmed. Then completely blown away when I stumbled over an entire section, covers facing out, of Doc Savage books in the sci fi section. I stared at those books with their fantastic James Bama covers, mesmerized. I wasn't quite sure what this big bronze guy with the stabbing widow's peak was, hero or villain, but I thought he was pretty cool.

My eyes locked on a cover to number five in the series, Brand of The Werewolf. It showed the Man of Bronze--as Doc Savage is known--struggling in the grips of a wolfman. Being a huge Dark Shadows fan, I was instantly drawn to the cover. I picked the book up two or three times, reading the small blurb on the back. Put it back. Did I really want to read a whole book? I mean, c'mon, comics had pictures! Reading a book was suspiciously like school work. Ugh.

My father had come up behind me, seen me fretting over the book, and offered to buy it for me. Paperbacks were only 75 cents at the time. I couldn't decide. So I left it there.

The entire week of Thanksgiving that cover haunted me. Enough so that on the Saturday after Turkey Day, I bugged my father to take me back and get it for me.

And there began a life long love of reading and Doc Savage. I devoured the book that weekend. I recall an uncle coming over and giving me a peculiar look because I was curled up in a recliner with my nose stuck in that book.

I finished it quickly, amazing my parents, who had a hard enough time getting me to read stuff required for school. I think I might have taken a few years off their lives when I asked for more. After all, there were something like 70 of the series books at Waldens. I didn't realize at the time these were pulp novels from the 1930s being reprinted and the total of them was 181 (182, counting an unpublished "lost" novel found many years later). I've now read them all at least three times over, some more than that.

It would be a couple weeks, my birthday, until I got a couple more. But I never looked back. From that point on I loved reading and that book is directly responsible for my being a writer.

Such a magic moment. One we seldom if ever experience as adults. I wish I could go back in time to that day, see my young self discovering that magic. Alas...

So what magic book brought you into reading? I'd love to know.

Will you believe?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets of The Chloe Files: Episode 6

2011-11-05T13:32:00.004-05:00

An eerie calm pervades the Ghost Cost of New Salem, Maine, this day. The calm before the Hellstorm. You can feel the electric sing of tortured spirits in the air.

The dark force that founded this town is gathering strength, luring minions. It won't be long, now. A three-century curse is set to bear bitter fruit.

A wave rolls in, glittering with sunlight, a million sparkling jewels tumbling over the hardpacked sand, then back out again.

Serenity.

But serenity is an illusion, cast by Evil. And peace a house of cards.

Soon...the screams will begin, and the illusion will shatter...
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files by Howard Hopkins
$2.99 limited time Chloefest price on Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also available on Nook and in paperback)

Watching Grimm

2011-11-04T21:49:00.004-05:00

Ok, so since this NBC show has the same title and somewhat the same concept as my horror novel GRIMM, I watched the second episode with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

Excitement died pretty quickly. Trepidation went next and boredom settled in its place. Then annoyance. I am partial to the title and I was hoping at least the show would represent--and draw some attention to my book. Now I am wondering if that's a good thing.

I am losing faith that the networks and even many movie companies nowadays have any idea what makes a decent horror show. Granted this NBC Grimm is a mix of horror and urban fantasy, but there were absolutely no surprises. I knew what was coming the moment the "kids" broke into the house. Which is fine if you have some suspense but it was more ho hum.

I'm not sure what to think, now. I doubt the show will last very long, and that may be a good thing. A waste of potential, unless things turn around fast, but I just didn't care about any of the characters and the CGI was dreadful. It's probably better than Once Upon a Time, but not sure that is saying much.

Here's what I can promise you. My GRIMM novel won't bore you. I firmly believe that. My novel has no bad CGI or PC characters you don't care about. It does have a frightening zombie. It has demon sex. It has witches who are sexually unparticular about gender. It is intended to be a classic monster movie read and not a literary snoozefest. It is scary fun escapism with a splash of blood. Oh, and did I mention the demon sex?

Seriously, I would sure like to see somebody make a decent horror/superantural series again--without CGI and with atmosphere. This show was not it.

Angelique Ficatier escaped hanging 300 years ago in Salem, Mass. Fleeing with her closest consorts, she settled in and cursed the town of New Salem, Maine...and has now returned to unleash the dread demon Czcarabus upon the world. Can Detective Sergeant Arlo Grimm and wayward exotic dancer Chloe Everson stop her before all Hell is unleashed?

Scream Goodbye...
GRIMM by Howard Hopkins $2.99 in Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051BUXFU
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Does Lightning Give You Superpowers?

2011-11-04T14:25:00.002-05:00

The adage goes, Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. But that’s obviously a pretty silly claim, since whatever attracted that lightning in the first place would probably do so again. Unless of course it’s a direct hit on a person, then, since it usually fries you, you don’t have a second chance of being struck. The Empire State Building gets hit thousands of times per year.

But what about those people who are struck by lightning and live, who then claim to have psychic abilities? Sounds a bit like something out of my paranormal series, The Chloe Files, doesn’t it?

But some who have been struck by lightning claim to have visions of the future, precognitive dreams and a host of other psychic superpowers. Some claimed to have been healed of ailments, or been blessed with the power to heal others. One person claims it made him unable to get enough sex (was Tiger Woods ever struck on the golf course?)

Getting struck by lightning hasn’t always come with claims of supernatural abilities. Once upon a time anyone who got zapped was considered on the outs with God. If God was annoyed with certain people—zap! If you lived through it, you sinned no more and walked away with a free afro. Lightning was also interpreted as omens, good or bad, depending on which direction it came from. From the East was generally good news. I guess that makes sense since that means the storm is passing. From the West, the storm is approaching.

Whatever the claims, being jolted with that much voltage is never a good thing. It does not turn you into The Flash, no matter what DC Comics tells you.

But what does it do?

The body functions on electrical impulses; the brain is a dynamo of electrical activity. We don’t use shock therapy anymore—well, at least not the way it was used a few decades ago—but everyone knows what happens with a surge goes through a computer or even a light bulb. Bulb gets bright, then burns out. Now if that much extra bah-zing flashes through a human nervous system…who knows what might happen?

The brain is a mysterious and complicated organ. Perhaps there are areas of it a jolt of electricity can activate. However, I would not recommend running around in foil hats during thunder storms trying to find out. Bad things are sure to happen…

Halloween is a year-round state of mind.
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 5

2011-11-03T22:18:00.003-05:00

Late afternoon sunlight bathes the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. Diamonds of light sparkle from tidal pools and chips of bone scattered along the beach glint. How many have died in this town, on these shores?

Too many.

But most come back, and that's never good. Not here, not in New Salem.

Don't let the sunlight fool you. There's Evil here, waiting, lurking, salivating. Do not cast your gaze upon it for more than an instant. Because if you do, it will be too late. Perhaps, it already is.

They say don't look into the abyss...that advice always comes too late in New Salem. Before you know it the abyss has you...and is throwing you back. But not in the same condition in which you were taken into its dark maw.
--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files on Kindle & Nook and in paperback
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Grimm on TV?

2011-11-03T13:34:00.004-05:00

Back in 1991 western/pulp writer pal Link Hullar suggested a few story ideas to me he thought I might be interested in tackling. One was a horror short story, which I wrote and will speak no more of (ahem), one was an idea for a novel series I may still attempt eventually and the third was a short story series idea. After an exchange of letters on the short story series idea--he lives in Texas, I live in Maine, and in the early '90s this was all discussed via snail mail--he gave me a first name, Arlo, and a basic concept about this character being a retired detective sergeant who dealt with supernatural crime after the covered-up death of his youngest son at the hands of a cult. And a title for the first story: A Serious Error in Judgment. I liked the idea and wrote the story, as well as a second, fleshing out Arlo's character and the world in which he operated. Since I had a similar idea and a last name, I combined them and Arlo became Arlo Grimm.

I also felt the story idea went beyond the short story format and was suited for a novel series. From that sprang my horror novel, GRIMM. I am fond of the book because it spun off dancer Chloe Everson into her own series, The Chloe Files, and gave me a town cursed by evil with a vast potential for telling some cool and scary tales. I also set my kids' horror series, The Nightmare Club, in the same town. There's enough ghosts and ghouls for everybody.

Flash ahead 20 years. My novel GRIMM, with its concept of a detective chasing down supernatural threats in the small seaside town of New Salem has been available for a while in paperback, Kindle and Nook, and has garnered an Eppie finalist nomination, an Amazon recommendation in horror, and was a Fictionwise top five bestseller at #2. And it has spun off a series.

Then along comes NBC's announcement of their fall schedule. It seems they have a new series titled Grimm, which pits a detective against supernatural forces in a North Western city by the sea. You can imagine my surprise?

The series started last week, but unfortunately I missed the first episode, so I can't tell quite how close my book and the show of the same name are yet, but I plan to catch episode two. I am hoping it is not as lackluster as ABC's Once Upon a Time.

As you might imagine I have mixed emotions about the show. I'm a bit saddened it is not my version of GRIMM on the TV screen. I believe it would make a pretty interesting show, though I get the impression NBC's entry is closer to urban fantasy than my unabashed horror series. On the other hand, the show might bring publicity and new readers to my novel. This of course could be a double-edged sword. If the show tanks, folks might associate it with my book. If it is successful, people might associate it with my book and feel let down when they read it and find different characters than those on the TV screen.

But they say any publicity is good publicity, so who knows? For now I'd like to say my novel GRIMM is the scariest Grimm NOT made into an NBC series and leave it up to the readers to decide.

Angelique Ficatier escaped hanging 300 years ago in Salem, Mass. Fleeing with her closest consorts, she settled the cursed town of New Salem, Maine...and has now returned to unleash the dread demon Czcarabus upon the world. Can Detective Sergeant Arlo Grimm and wayward exotic dancer Chloe Everson stop her before all Hell is unleashed?
Scream Goodbye...
GRIMM by Howard Hopkins $2.99 in Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051BUXFU
(Also available in Nook and paperback)

Will You Believe?

2011-11-02T14:18:00.003-05:00

How would you like to escape your troubles for a few hours and plunge yourself into a world of the supernatural? Flee to a town where Evil knows no boundaries and the rules of reality are shattered?

The Chloe Files paranormal horror series is a modern classic style of Urban Fantasy. I call it Urban Horror or even Rural Horror. Because what happens on the Ghost Coast of New Salem, a town cursed three-hundred years ago by its founding dark witches is no fantasy. It's real, related by a woman who lives it everyday. Who fights the good fight while the rest of us sleep safe in our beds.

She's in a war, you see, a war against the dark forces. A war she might not survive. That's why she wants her story told, in case she fails and someone else needs to take up the sword. Or if she wins, to have a record as a warning to those in the future who may need to follow in her footsteps.

She wants you to know what really goes on in the dark, see what lurks behind the veil. And be warned. There's Evil out there...waiting...

If only you will believe...

Become a Chloephile!
The Chloe Files by Howard Hopkins. $2.99 kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

(Also available on Nook and in paperback)

Cloud Control?

2011-11-02T12:17:00.001-05:00

When I was young I used to see shapes in the clouds, the way most kids do. I saw anything from Yogi Bear to big white monsters. When you are a child you can let your imagination run wild. Fortunately I never really grew up, so in writing my horror series I can still do that and not be locked away in a room with crayons, as much as that would please me. Of course when you do get older you learn clouds are just water vapor at the mercy of the wind, but so what? I even wrote a horror story about clouds called Painting Clouds with Terror, which if you are so inclined you can read in my short story anthology Dark Harbors.

But did you know there are actually folks who claim, through a feat of psychokinesis, they can make clouds dissolve? There’s even a term for it. It’s called, obviously enough, “cloud dissolving” or “cloud bursting”.

Considering the wet, dreary—and chilly—October we had here in Southern Maine, I find myself a little skeptical such a thing is possible. If it were, I think there’d be perfect weather all the time, except in places with droughts, where rain is needed.

Of course, there’s the other side of the coin. Indian shamans have long believed in scared dances that bring about the formation of clouds and subsequent rain. In all fairness, I have noticed a definite increase in moisture every time Shakira shakes her hips—but that’s probably just me sweating profusely.

But forming clouds with the mind? Dissolving them? Making it rain and controlling the weather? There’s certainly no empirical evidence to back up such claims. It’s difficult enough trying to quantify PK in the lab.

So what do you think? Can folks affect clouds with their minds? Or do they who have their heads in the clouds?

Looking for the perfect scary read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Introducing: Allie May Carpenter

2011-11-01T22:16:00.004-05:00

Name: Allie May "Alliecat" Carpenter

Born: August 20. Aged 12

Hometown: New Salem, Maine

Closest relatives: Her father. Her mother died a year ago in a car accident. Allie Facts: Allie is a tomboy and a big NY Yankees fan. She loves to challenge boys to arm wrestling and she thinks she can beat any boy. She is fluent in sarcasm and her favorite expression is "poop on a pickle!"

Occupation: Ghost chaser. Student. Pain in the backside.

Starring Role:

The Nightmare Club #1: The Headless Paperboy
The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
The Nightmare Club #3: The Willow Witch

Author Comments: Allie has no real friends and desperately wants to join The Nightmare Club "officially." She is always honing in on their adventures. Will she eventually make it into the group? She's the object of affection for the school bully, The Gibb, whom she can't stand and is not afraid of. She isn't afraid of much, except dealing with her grief over her mom's death.

Where everyday is Halloween!

The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

Vampires Ride the West

2011-11-01T13:57:00.003-05:00

The western isn’t normally a genre thought of for its vampires, but when I set out to write a vampire western, The Dark Riders, I thought it was the perfect place to encounter them. Of course, blood-sucker horse operas are not without precedent. “Billy the Kid vs Dracula”, as far back 1965 pitted a reformed William Bonney against the Prince of the Undead in a B movie. I recall at least one other, whose name escapes me, wherein a gunfighter uses wooden bullets with little crosses carved into the tips to dispose of an undead gunfighter.

I believe the Western is actually perfect setting for creatures of the night. It was a frontier world, rife with superstition and shadowy corners. Scary tales were told around the campfire and who knew what lurked out there in the western night?

When I first started the planning for writing The Dark Riders, the notion of setting monstrous vampires in the Old West intrigued me. I also wondered, what if the vampire was, like Dracula, a nasty character before got turned into a “dead-walker”?

In this case it was an outlaw named Milus Clint, as evil a sonofabtch as ever rode the blood trail. He spent his life robbing, raping, killing and terrorizing New Mexico, destroying the lives of those he touched, including that of a young boy named Chris Durrin, the protagonist of the book. But Chris vows justice and on a fateful encounter kills Milus--or at least he thinks he does.

Because Milus isn’t quite dead. Or is he?

With The Dark Riders, I wanted to bring the vampire legend with a twist into the Wild West, which meant creating a sort of parallel vampire origin and tying it into a western backdrop. I also wanted it to explore the themes of life and death and loss, and the personification of Evil, from within ourselves and from external sources, and how men deal with it, how they overcome it—if they overcome it. Though The Dark Riders uses the vampire set against the hardships of the everyday life of a western rancher, it also serves as an allegory for our own times and the demons we face within ourselves and from the outside world.

I think the Western lends itself particularly well to vampires, and, indeed, other types of monsters, because in a way the untamed frontier was one big monster waiting to be conquered.

The Dark Riders is, unabashedly, a monstrous vampire tale. Milus, like Dracula, is not tortured by his curse, he revels in it. He longs to make the world of night his own, rule the darkness, create an entire world of vampires under his control.

And it’s up to Chris Durrin, again, to stop him…

How do you feel about the vampire in other genres? Westerns, science fiction, romance, comedy, even Christian horror?

Outlaw vampires don’t sparkle… The Dark Riders on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DC6B9Y
(Also on Nook and in paperback)

Halloween Report

2011-10-31T22:05:00.002-05:00

Halloween was kind of a letdown and very low key this year. Perhaps it was the unexpected snowstorm and power outages or maybe it's because it fell on a Monday, but we had very few kids this year. Three bags of candy and only went through less than one. Though that does have a positive aspect, since I get to finish the Reese's Cups. And I did get to hand out some Nightmare Club postcards. One little boy seemed pretty excited to get one, even.

Does anybody else feel a little weird handing out candy to Trick or Treaters who are obviously late teens and bigger than most adults? Seemed to be more of them this year. Of course, if you want to save washing eggs off your house, or worse, it's a good idea to just fork over the goods.

The annual Halloween party at the firehouse was also pretty lame this time. Same old magician, who now, along with his assistant, looks about 70. They cut out the haunted house and some of the other things for the tween kids. The pizza this year seemed to be...I dunno, moving. Everything felt very lackluster, which was a bummer, because I love Halloween. Maybe the piss poor economy put a crimp in it. Or maybe it was just my area.

But I think I'll extend Halloween another day and make pumpkin seeds and watch scary movies tomorrow night...after the dentist apportionment, which is far scarier. And eat a bag of Peanut Butter Cups. So there!

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Helloween Weekend

2011-10-31T15:01:00.001-05:00

Well, a surprise October Nor'easter put a crimp in my pre-Halloween traditions. There are times I dislike living here in Maine and this weekend was one of them.

It's pretty rare when we see snow in October. I recall it once when I was a kid, around '73. But that was just enough to crunch a bit on the ground while trick or treating. This was a full blown--pardon the pun--storm, with heavy wet snow and winds gusting to 60 miles per hour.

It started Saturday night, coming out of the sky in juicy clumps of white. Since most of the trees still have leaves it didn't take long before the branches were groaning and cracking. There's a huge oak just outside my door; its branches were leaning on the house, scratching at my window.

Then the power went out. The power goes out here if you sneeze wrong sometimes, but going out and staying out for more than a day when the temp outside goes into the '20s is not so much fun. It's amazing how you become dependent on things like a TV, computer or...heat.

Temps in the house dropped into the 30s. You could hear snow thumping on the roof as it slid off the leaves.

Odd thing--or mocking thing--was the power was on about 100 yards down the road, and at a condo complex a street over. It was just a small pocket in my town, and I was right in the middle. I still can't feel parts of my body!

But it could have been worse. Some folks in lower New England are still without power and will be perhaps a week. I can catch up on Halloween viewing and traditions tonight, but they are having it much rougher and I hope they get their power back soon.

I am also hoping never to see snow again, but since it's Maine...not likely.

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Halloween Monsters: Modern Vampires?

2011-10-31T12:56:00.001-05:00

I don’t quite get the new vampires of Twilight. The vampires I write in my books, such as my western vampire novel The Dark Riders, are vicious monsters. I understand the romantic appeal of living forever with your soulmate, though the reality of that might not be so pleasant . Certainly there are days in any relationship where you wake up on the wrong side of the coffin. Can you imagine arguing over who has the garlic breath for eternity?

I am not sure what is appealing about having two teeth jammed into your jugular, no matter what one of my ex-girlfriends says. I am a night person, though, so I guess I could deal with that aspect of it. And the not getting old part is nice.

As I’ve mentioned, I prefer my vampires of a monstrous nature, and not quite so superhuman as they are portrayed right now. They’ve become almost superheroes. The Vampire has become the ultimate Dark Knight. There’s a weird sense of control and surrender with them I don’t get, either. They can put the glamour on any woman or man and make them do or forget anything. It sort of takes the free will and equality out of a relationship, not that it might not come in handy in certain situations, especially where in-laws are involved. And since they are basically beasts who might at any time snap and suck all your blood there’s always that element of danger. An adrenaline junkie’s wet dream.

But, perhaps, it’s the fantasy, the sense that love might just be forever, albeit a bit one-sided love. But I hear the vampire divorce rate is rising and vamp alimony is a bitch…

But, for the us romantics, it’s nice to believe love can last through centuries. That your special someone will never get, er, long in the tooth.

Maybe that’s the big appeal of sparkly vampires? I don’t know. You tell me.

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 4

2011-10-29T22:40:00.003-05:00

Night shrouds the shore of the Ghost Coat again. This evening is full of ghosts here in New Salem, Maine. With each passing day they become more insistent, more...insatiable. For their freedom, and for the things promised by the dark witch...

A lonely man staggers home from a bar along the waterfront...he never sees the things that grasp him, pull him into the dark alley. He has no friends, no lover...no one. He will not be missed.

Another man, far from innocent, stalks a young woman. She should know better than to be about in New Salem on such a night. You can feel the spirits in the damp air. But the threat to her comes in much more human form...the New Salem Strangler has killed five.

She'll scream in a moment...but not for long...
--Chloe Everson
The Chloe Files

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Halloween Monsters: Top 10 Ghouls

2011-10-28T21:07:00.001-05:00

One of the coolest things about writing paranormal horror series like The Chloe Files and The Nightmare Club is I get to work with a lot of groovy monsters. In fact, the hard part becomes which monster to use! There are so many to choose from and each is unique and a challenge to integrate into my series in a fresh manner. I've used ghosts and zombies in The Chloe Files, and ghosts, witches and headless spooks in The Nightmare Club.

So I thought it might be fun to narrow them down to a top ten list. These, in no particular order, are the monsters I think had the most influence on the horror genre, plus a couple personal favorites. Your list might be different. Please feel free to post your top ten in the comment section!

1 The vampire is obvious. Bram Stoker’s classic tale started the whole modern vampire thing. Now neck munchers are popping up everywhere.

2 Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde…the quintessential split personality/monster within. Huge influence on the genre. I've used him in my own fiction and I'm sure he'll be back.

3 The Wolfman…a variation will be appearing in the fourth Nightmare Club and always a personal favorite monster for me.

4 Frankenstein. Another obvious include, whether the Mary Shelly original or the Karloff incarnation.

5 The Mummy. The shambling bandaged kind. Can't wait to work one of them into a novel.

6 Creature from the Black Lagoon…the king fish of amphibian monsters.

7 The Zombie…no specific zombie, but the one from Kolchak: The Night Stalker works as my personal favorite. Or my own zombie, Chuckles, from Grimm--I'm kind of partial to him, though he was a bit psychotic and smelled funny.

8 The Witch…crone or hottie…they’ll put a spell on you…

9 The Ghost…in any of its spooky haunting forms…

10 The Invisible Man…more a human monster than supernatural, but I think he belongs on the list.

So let me know your favorites monsters. Who have I missed?

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Barnabas Collins, Vampire!

2011-10-28T13:36:00.000-05:00

With a few exceptions, the modern vampire bears little resemblance to the blood-sucking ghoul of yesteryear, the Nosferatu, Dracula and his ilk. Thanks to writers like Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight books and Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse novels, today’s vampires sparkle in sunlight, are charismatic control freaks and romantic figures for whom women eagerly present their neck. We used to scream when a vampire flashed his incisors preparatory to ripping the flesh from our throat; now we say, bite me…please.

But these modern vampires probably owe their thanks more to one blood-sucker in particular, and that’s not Dracula, Lord of the Undead. It is a much more modern creation who started as a villain but over a very short period became the swoon of millions of housewives and hero of many a school children running home to catch the vamp’s latest exploit.

The tragic vampire. The suffering hero, placed under a curse by a jealous malevolent witch. A man who has no wish to endure his plight, his fly-by-night existence. Dracula never really objected to his lot; in fact, he reveled in it. But this vampire feels guilty (usually) when he subsists on human blood, or finds himself forced to kill to protect his dark secret.

I’m talking of course about Barnabas Collins, tragic vampire of the 1960s’ gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. Dark Shadows had been running for about six months to less than spectacular ratings when producer Dan Curtis decided to take a chance. A huge chance. He introduced a vampire into the show in the person of Canadian-born actor Jonathan Frid. Frid was supposed to run for an arc and be destroyed, as is the lot of most vampires. But ratings soared and Frid’s nervous and unassuming charm propelled Barnabas Collins and Dark Shadows into TV cult history.

Within a very few months Barnabas Collins went from an obsessed kidnapping ghoul to charming vampire hero. He defined the romantic vampire for generations to come. Now the vampire was plagued by a curse, hated his existence and fell in love, or mourned for an eternity over a past love. Where women had once run in terror of the vampire, now they lined up to mother him and eagerly donate a pint or two. Much of the credit goes to Frid, who along with Dracula is now one of the most recognizable and famous fictional vampires ever.

After Dark Shadows, the vampire went briefly back to his monstrous form with movies like Kolchak: The Night Stalker and the mostly bad vamps populating TV shows like Buffy (with the exception of Angel, another tragic vamp who owed much to Barnabas.) But modern vampires have returned to the roadmap laid down by Barnabas and taken it further. The Vampires of True Blood are good and bad, heroic in the TV series Moonlight, and romantic in Meyer’s Twilight. You can either credit or blame Barnabas for that development, depending on how you like your blood-sucker.

But whatever the case, Barnabas Collins was an original in an antique genre and, along with the Hammer Dracula films, kept the legend alive and renewed for decades to come. With his upcoming return via the Johnny Depp movie expected for May of 2012, the legend will go on.

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 3

2011-10-27T21:19:00.004-05:00

A steady rain continues to fall over the old streets of New Salem, Maine. It's funny how lulling the sound can be...when it doesn't sound like the dead murmuring. Tonight you can hear them whispering behind the veil, the haunting pleas of a legion of lost souls. They cannot rest...the dark witch that founded this Hell-cursed town won't let them. She lathers them with false promises and corrupt hope. She knows their most secret sins and desires.

A pity.

Because not only will it doom the living if it is not stopped, but the dead as well.
The door has been opened. Hell is coming through...
--Chloe Everson

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Halloween Monsters: The Vampire

2011-10-27T13:54:00.001-05:00

Today’s paranormal fiction is filled with various vampires, romantic leads to nasty bloodsuckers, and from Bram Stoker’s evil incarnate Dracula, to the modern sparkly blood-suckers of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, the vampire has remained popular in books, plays, movies and TV shows for nearly two centuries. There’s no denying in all of monsterland the Vampire reigns supreme. Vampires will soon be coming to New Salem in my paranormal horror series The Chloe Files and my western vampire novel The Dark Riders deals with a particularly vicious gang of vampire outlaws. You’d think readers would be tired of them by now but their appetite for neck-munchers seems as voracious as the undead’s need for O positive.

In its earliest form, the vampire was indeed a monster, no tragic figure cursed like the poor werewolf. Dracula was bad to the last drop and for the time period startlingly erotic. That eroticism plays a much bigger part nowadays, thanks to an explosion of vampire romance (I’m thinking getting two fangs jammed into your jugular looks a whole lot more sexy on screen than it would be in reality), but certainly has its roots in Stoker’s creation.

Over the decades, the vampire has changed back and forth, becoming more civilized, returning to its monstrous roots, then resurfacing as a enchanting dark figure, who, aside from that nasty little blood-drinking addiction, has become a sort of dark hero.

In literature and on film Dracula himself has gone from monster to romantic figure, even, pardon the usage, a sucky comedy figure thanks to George Hamilton. He’s even made it into a Saturday morning cartoon comedy in the Groovy Ghoulies.

Vampires and vampirism, of course, go back much farther than Dracula, who himself was based on Vlad (Tepes) the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia (1431-1436). It was merely Stoker’s novel that mainstreamed the vampire. The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of “The Vampyre” by John Polidori. But vampire lore goes back even farther. The first appearance of the word “vampire” in English comes from 1734, in a travelogue titled “Travels of Three English Gentlemen” and had seen discussion in German literature. The English term originates from the German “Vampir” (possibly via the French “Vampyre”). But the concept existed in cultures such as the Mesopotaimians, Hebrews, ancient Greeks and Romans, with tales of demons that were the predecessors of the modern vampire. The folklore we know today originates from the South-Eastern European verbal traditions, a time when the belief in vampires became so prevalent executions of folks thought to be the undead occurred in public (much like the Salem Witch hysteria in early America).

No definitive description of the folkloric vampire exists but several elements became commonplace in European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and purplish or dark in color. Those characteristics were usually attributed to the recent drinking of blood and blood was often seen snaking from the mouth and nose of the vampire in its coffin. The vampire was normally dressed in its burial linen shroud and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown, though normally fangs were not a feature.

Many of the trappings we know today come from literature and film, with new traits being added over the past 30 years or so that allowed the vampire to walk in daylight, either through an amulet or piece of blessed jewelry of some kind, or some were simply able to walk about comfortably on cloudy days, ala Moonlight or Twilight. In modern vampire lore the undead have been even able to integrate themselves into society and become detectives or bar owners.

It’s clear that the vampire legend, while enduring, is also quite flexible and malleable. But it’s also certain that as long as we have horror stories we will have the vampire, good, bad, or sparkling…

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Introducing: Orville Turner

2011-10-26T22:14:00.004-05:00

Name: Orville "Ace T" Turner (Orie)

Born: December 12. Aged 12

Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado, originally. Now, New Salem, Maine

Closest relatives: His mother. Has an abusive father back in Colorado with whom he has no contact.

Orie Facts: Has some anger issues and a problem getting into fights when he first moves to New Salem. Favorite saying is: Woo ha! He's the idea man of the group and tends to need attention. Can close one nostril and blow boogers out of his nose half a dozen feet. Just sayin'.

Occupation: Ghost chaser and leader of The Nightmare Club. Student.

Starring Role:

The Nightmare Club #2: The Deadly Dragon
The Nightmare Club #3: The Willow Witch

Author Comments: Orie is basically a good kid who needs to get his anger issues channeled and leading The Nightmare Club gives him the perfect opportunity to do that. That's not to say he still doesn't get into the occasional scuffle, but he is a natural born leader and wants to be a good example. He's in for a number of confrontations with the school bully "The Gibb," as he tries to protect the other members of the group. His mother is hiding from his father, trying to protect her son.

Where everyday is Halloween!

The Nightmare Club series on Kindle
#1 The Headless Paperboy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052O5AIQ
#2 The Deadly Dragon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CFEIWY
#3 The Willow Witch http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CK4RVQ
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

5 Out of 5 Stars for The Chloe Files

2011-10-26T15:58:00.002-05:00

This review is from The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes

Wonderful Book, September 2, 2011
By CulturalFastFood/Romer's Reads

"...The book is good. Damn good...

Let's face reality. The whole world of paranormal, semi-horrific but not really horror books has rapidly approached completely recycled status for a while now. Characters are almost interchangeable between books by different authors and clichés rule over creativity. Hopkins avoids this nicely. His character, Chloe, is refreshing on a number of levels...

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Hopkins books are one of the reasons the genre has legs left. It is possible to write in this environment without producing derivative crap, and he's proven it. There were echoes of Dean Koontz (Odd Thomas) and Jim Butcher (Dresden Files) but also just plain good plotting and characterization you can find in far too few of today's best sellers..."

READ the entire review and 10 others for The Chloe Files #1 at the Amazon.com/kindle store. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Halloween Monsters: From the Black Lagoon

2011-10-26T12:30:00.001-05:00

In my own paranormal horror fiction series I haven’t yet dealt with sea creatures much, though that will be changing in The Nightmare Club series for kids, but I’ve always had a special affection for things that crawl out of the briny depths or dark lake beds. Not so much the plesiosaur types of Loch Ness (though I like them, too), but the manlike creatures who rise to wreak havoc.

Like the Gill-Man.

You just never know what’s going to be swimming around in a jungle lake…well, other than one hot girl—in the form of the exquisite Julia Adams--who you just know is going to become the object of obsession of some butt-ugly creature. In this case the creature has gills, webbed hands and feet, and a pretty pissed-off attitude for some scientists messing around in his territory. Who can blame him?

The Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of the best Universal monster movies. Released in 1954 it “spawned” two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and A Creature Walks among Us.

When a geological expedition to the dark Amazon uncovers evidence of some sort of web-handed missing link, they discover the link is not so missing after all, but alive and well in the Black Lagoon. The creature kills a number of the scientists before finally meeting its own “doom” at the end of the film…or does it? Guess not, since we already know about the two sequels.

The Gill-Man may not get quite the publicity as, say, Dracula or Frankenstein, but he’s every bit the classic monster they are. And despite the fact he looks a bit like a walking penis with scales he gets the girl…for a while, anyway. He’s appeared in other media such as a meeting with Abbot & Costello on The Colgate Comedy Hour, an excellent Aurora model kit, etc., and will reemerge an upcoming remake.

All the movies are available in a Universal DVD set. Run them back to back the week of Halloween…and stay out of any Amazon lagoons.

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today! Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

And Along Comes Snooki

2011-10-25T23:34:00.002-05:00

Why does it seem some people are just born under a lucky star?

That no matter what they try they are successful at it while you scrape and scratch and even fail after putting in tons of work into an endeavor? I mean, really?

Authors in general are happy for other authors' successes. It proves it's doable and it is nice to see someone who has put a lot of hard work into writing a book succeed against the tough odds set up by the publishing industry. Authors have a kinship--for the most part, because certainly there are a few who think they are better than the rest and feel the need to tear down their fellow scribes and denigrate their material.

And then along comes Snooki.

She's small, she's mean, she's boobacious and she's orange. She's Snooki, loudmouthed breastonista of The Jersey Shore.

And she's got a ginormous book deal. For a stack of cash taller than she is in stocking feet. And a NY Times bestseller.

This annoys the living crap out of a lot of hardworking authors of both fiction and nonfiction. Assuming this book isn't written in crayon, I've got to think there's an underpaid ghostwriter somewhere because I have heard this woman speak and pearls of wisdom do not flow from her vulgar little mouth.

Let's be honest, most guys will overlook a lot when a rack that size is involved. But, sorry, this woman can make me turn the channel the minute she's opens her trap. I don't know if her dumb and drunken dumber act is a facade (and I sure hope it is) but just how does this person get a huge book deal and why do people pay to buy it? Really. I want to know. What am I missing here about her? Why does anyone pay money to read what she has to say?

I don't get it. A lot of authors don't get it. Most authors--myself included--claw and scratch for every single sale.

But maybe I have discovered the answer. Authors, your days of lagging sales are over. Listen closely. This is the secret to big time sales and best-selling fame.

Ready?

Tan in a can. Go ahead. Paint yourself orange. Your sales will skyrocket. While you're at it, invest in some saline. And don't forget to drink. A lot. Getting arrested may or may not be part of the equation.

Snook it up.

There. The secret is out. Happy writing.

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files on Kindle & Nook and paperback
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 2

2011-10-25T21:26:00.004-05:00

Rain splashes the hardpacked sand on the shore of New Salem, as the sea drags a wave back to its bosom. The tide is receding, leaving behind clues to the past: a shoe that once belonged to a little boy who drowned here ten years ago...a wedding ring washed up from the bony finger of some forgotten bride...

But don't worry. They'll both be back to claim their belongings. The dead don't stayed buried on the Ghost Coast.

A great crash of thunder shatters the silence and lightning illuminates the beach in stark ghostly relief. Did you glimpse the figure standing in an incoming wave? She glimpsed you...which is a pity.

They call her the Woman of the Sea. She calls those who dare venture out on nights like this...deceased...
--Chloe Everson

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also in Nook and paperback)

Halloween Monsters: Feed My Frankenstein

2011-10-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

If a completed novel or movie can be said to be the sum of its part, well, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein fulfills that concept in spades.

Mary Shelly wrote the novel at the age of 18, which if anything proves teenagers haven’t changed much when it comes to that dark period we call adolescence. The novel was published when she was 19 and her name did not even appear on the original London edition. Her novel is a classic warning of the limits of science, or pushing beyond those limits into things we perhaps should not, but her version varies considerably from the Universal Films’ adaptations of the 1930s, which is the monster I will focus on here.

Frankenstein’s monster, mistakenly referred to as just Frankenstein by many—Frankenstein was the scientist, not the creature—shambles his way through the classic film starring Boris Karloff. Henry Frankenstein assembles a collection of body parts and harnesses a bit of electricity in an effort to create life—and he succeeds, but that life is a grunting groaning monster with a pretty bad attitude. Unfortunately when a brain was needed for the creature, the wrong one was used, that of a criminal, and the creation knows only murder and mayhem when it rises. Flat of head, big of feet, with bolts sticking out of his neck, he becomes the terror of the village, hunted and maligned. In the end he meets death—at least until the sequels.

The movie varies so much from the novel it would be too long a compassion to go into here, except to say, for one of the few times in Hollywood’s history, the story becomes not one but two classic works. One, Shelly’s fictional masterpiece, and the other a brilliant piece of horror filmmaking. Boris Karloff brings the creature to life without words, simply a masterful performance. The film spawns Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (my personal favorite) and other sequels. Other film adaptations that stuck closer to the book all fell flat compared to the Universal movie. And the creature became a Halloween archetype.

The theme was used in numerous other movie and TV shows as well. Dark Shadows did a take off on the book, creating Adam under the guidance of mad Dr. Lang, even adding a bride called Eve. Herman Munster portrayed a comical slant on the creature and Frankie appeared in the cartoon The Groovy Ghoulies, and a ‘60s’ Saturday morning cartoon called Frankenstein, Jr. A scene from the movie—originally cut—where the creature encounters a little girl, accidentally killing her, was paid homage to in the first Incredible Hulk telefilm. I’m pretty sure at some point the monster—or one very much like him—will make an appearance in The Chloe Files or The Nightmare Club. He’s just too good a monster not to.

Looking for the perfect Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today! Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Halloween Monsters: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2011-10-24T13:39:00.001-05:00

The dichotomy between our inner demons and expected human behavior is something I like to explore quite a bit in my own fiction. Man himself can often be a much worse monster than anything created in fiction or on a Hollywood screen. Many of the characters I create in my books struggle with their deeper dark side, as do we to some extent every day of our lives, some of us more than others. Who wins, the human or the animal?

We all have this dark side, a side we—usually—keep hidden or suppressed. Sometimes that side emerges during fits of anger, great emotional turmoil or through the use of chemicals. We make not like it, but sometimes it’s beyond control, and maybe that’s why is scares us so much in our fiction.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, a novella written by the Scottish author in 1886, exemplifies this as well as any work of literature, and has put the demonic Mr. Hyde into our mainstream monster lexicon. The duality of human nature fascinated Stevenson and the novella was one of the prolific author’s best-selling works. It concerned the case of a lawyer named Utterson investigating the mysterious occurrences connected to his Friend Dr. Henry Jekyll and a certain vicious Edward Hyde. Unfortunately for Dr. Jekyll, the transformations into Hyde become ever-increasing and permanent, the potion he uses to stave them off and transform back running out of its necessary ingredient.

The fictional concept was pretty unique at the time but is now the basis of many monster fictions—from the werewolf to the Incredible Hulk. Take offs on the Mr. Hyde script can be seen in many movies, TV and book adaptations, as well as original uses of the now public domain character. The 1960s gothic soap Dark Shadow even featured a play on the novella as one Cyrus Longworth in Parallel Time became the rapacious John Yeager. The creator of the show, Dan Curtis, produced one of the best adaptations to TV movie in the ‘70s, starring the inimitable Jack Palance.

I read the novella back in seventh grade, but it stuck with me, so much so that Mr. Hyde returned in my own fiction in a widescreen comic book from Moonstone entitled The Strange Case of The Spider and Mr. Hyde in The Spider: Judgement Knight series. The Spider, a split personality pulp hero with mega-violent tendencies of his own, seemed a perfect mirror for the monsters Hyde. I’ve plans to include a Mr. Hyde-like character in The Chloe Files, my paranormal horror series.

The novella can be obtained free online, as it is now public domain. Many of the movie adaptations are available on DVD. Halloween seems like a perfect time to revisit Mr. Hyde…and take a look at the dark demon inside us all…

Looking for the perfect Halloween read?
Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also available on Nook and in paperback)

Secrets from The Chloe Files: Episode 1

2011-10-23T13:05:00.007-05:00

The full moon rises again over the Ghost Coast of New Salem, Maine. It's glow turns the incoming waves to liquid alabaster. Its pull is stronger in October, the memories it brings more poignant and soul-wrenching...

The Witching Moon. The Ghost Moon. The Demon Moon. All names it goes by, but they have one thing in common--they are a harbinger of Evil.

The ghost of the little girl with the face of my sister stands by the shore, the chilled waves lapping over her bare feet. She's wearing the yellow Easter dress she got for her seventh birthday. A strange smile washes onto her lips, as if she knows I am watching. The smile says she is allowing only a glimpse...And that glimpse foretells the terrifying events about to claim the days and nights of my tomorrows.

Then, she is gone, vanished like a figment of moonlight. But the portent of terror remains...

The dead are restless, the veil fragile, the time...too late...

--Chloe Everson

Welcome to New Salem...Where Hell comes home...
The Chloe Files by Howard Hopkins
Limted time Chloefest price $2.99 on Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Alos available on Nook and in paperback)

Writing the Nightbeat

2011-10-21T21:42:00.002-05:00

Serendipity. It's amazing how many times things in my life have come to that, especially in writing. In fact, it happened again tonight when I realized something while reading writer/editor Tommy Hancock's piece for the Radio Archives Newsletter (Radio Archives is a great company that produces CDs of old time radio shows such as The Shadow, Inner Sanctum, Etc., as well as audio books and, soon, fiction anthologies. Check them out at http://www.radioarchives.com/).

Tommy recently invited me to write a novella for Radio Archives' very first fiction anthology, which will be based on a '50s crime noir show called Nightbeat. Nightbeat involves a reporter who stumbles onto sometimes grisly crimes on the night-shrouded streets of Chicago. The original pilot for the show was called--The Elevator.

Many moons ago, when I first began my fiction writing career, I got to apprentice with a great science fiction writer named Ardath Mayhar. An absolutely lovely person, she went over my first short story numerous times and offered a great deal of support and encouragement for a guy who felt he had no talent at all.

The title of my first story--which I sold, incidentally, and years later rewrote heavily for my short story anthology Dark Harbors--was The Elevator!

Coincidence or the big cosmic monkey? You decide. Of course, my story was a Christmas horror piece, an homage to Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but it tickles the paranormal writer in me that twenty-six years later I get to write for a series that started its life with a story titled the same as the one I did to start my fiction journey. There's got to be a fortune cookie in that, right?

I read to escape...I write to help others escape. That is exactly what I am trying to give y'all, dear readers, with The Chloe Files. A chance to get away from the things distressing you for just a bit. Yep, I am asking you to break open your piggy bank and count up 300 pennies, but it's less than a gallon of gas and goes twice as far! And she's environmentally friendly. I hope you'll let Chloe lead you through the misty cursed streets of New Salem, Maine, as she goes on her paranormal adventures. I believe you'll enjoy the journey and want more--oh, but watch where you step, there's demons everywhere!
Looking for a spooky Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today! Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Halloween Monsters: The Mummy

2011-10-21T13:44:00.002-05:00

I haven’t yet used a mummy in The Chloe Files or The Nightmare Club, but they will most certainly be shambling through my books in the not too distant future. Mummies are just too cool not to appear in New Salem, where both horror series take place. And there IS a mysterious and secret-laden Museum of Natural History in town run by a very peculiar yet hauntingly familiar curator named Genie Lansing. Some say the museum is cursed, but you’ll have to wait to find out that…

Mummies. No matter how many times archeologists are warned against breaking into Egyptian tombs…the results are always the same. It’s balderdash, poppycock…until that shambling creature of bandages returns to choke the living crap out of them. The tombs always carry a curse, so you’d think they’d have learned their lesson by now. Nope. But, really, what fun would that be?

The Mummy is a pretty intimidating monster, albeit you have to wonder why he got so many victims, considering how slowly he drags about. He was first realized in the 1932 Universal horror movie staring Boris Karloff as the swathed priest Imhotep. An excellent movie for its time, still better than the CGI laden remakes today, the film was shot in the Mojave Desert and spawned a number of sequels.

My personal favorite is the 1959 Hammer Films’ version starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Lee made a particularly imposing Mummy, shambling and grunting, and conveying utter menace with his eyes alone. Virtually indestructible, he gets a hankering for the leading lady of the film, who just happens to resemble more than a little his lost priestess love. Guys in bandages always get the chicks, though they don’t usually hold onto them for long.

The Mummy has made it into a number of mainstream TV shows, such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Ghost Whisperer, spawned a take off on the legend in a movie of the week called The Cat Creature (like a vampire turns into a bat, this Mummy turns into a cat or a lovely priestess), and has even appeared in pulp hero novels (The Avenger: The Blood Ring and Doc Savage: Resurrection Day, to name two) and a Marvel Comics mag of his own titled The Living Mummy.

What is your favorite Mummy movie? Do you like the classic raggedy version or modern films?

Looking for a spooky Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today! Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also available in Nook and paperback)

Do You Always Write Your Best?

2011-10-20T21:18:00.000-05:00

The other day I heard a writer--who shall remain nameless--utter something that kind of threw me for a loop. She said: "I'm not getting paid for this story so I'm not going to put much work into it and do edits."

Um, huh? Really? I felt like asking, "Is that the way you really want to go? Because your name will be on it, right?"

I understand the mindset, but I can't say I agree with it in the least.

I relate it to resume writing. If this woman--or anyone else writing one, for that matter--was writing her resume, I assume she would do the best possible job on it, because that resume is what would get her the interview or job for which she was applying. Yes? You want that resume to sparkle.

As far as I am concerned every story a writer puts out there is a resume. It's an example of their talent and professionalism. Should it not be treated as such? I put the same amount of time and work into EVERY story and novel I write. Whether I am being paid for it or not. Because my name is on it and it is an advertisement for my work. I am befuddled by the attitude this writer--and she is not alone--has regarding her work.

I spend countless hours writing my novels and stories, sweating blood over them. I am a fast writer, true, but I work hard to polish them to the best of my ability. I work with professional editors to go over them. Do mistakes slip through? Yes. Do I make blunders? Yes. I'm human and such is life. No book or story, whether it comes from a huge publishing company or an independent self-publisher, is error free. I can find a mistake in anybody's book. But so what?

All I can advise writers like this woman is, you're putting your work out there. Give it the best you've got, no matter how much or how little you are being paid. Make it shine. It may be the piece that gets you noticed, and you don't want to be noticed in a bad way.

So perhaps in the final tally, the statement should not be "I'm not putting much effort into this because I'm not getting paid," but "I'm putting the best I've got into this because it will pay off in the end."

My two cents. Writers, readers--what do YOU think?

Welcome to New Salem...The dead are waiting...
The Chloe Files on Kindle & Nook and in paperback
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

Halloween Haunts: The Headless Horseman

2011-10-20T13:58:00.002-05:00

With Halloween upon us in a bit over a week, and autumn leaves swirling in the air, I find myself starting to think about monsters—the werewolf, the witch, the vampire and any of the plethora of others who haunted my trick or treating childhood. I write about monsters now, in The Chloe Files and even vampires in my western horror novel, The Dark Riders. I love the classic monster, from the Universal films of the ‘30s and ‘40s to the Hammer films of the ‘60s. Mean or misunderstood, the monster is a staple of horror and getting to write tales of the supernatural is like being a kid in a Halloween candy store.

One of my all-time favorite monsters is The Headless Horseman from Washington Irving’s, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. This is the first tale I recall my father reading to me just before Halloween when I was a child and it left an indelible impression.

The story focuses a schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, who competes with burly “Brom Bones” for the hand of the lovely Katrina Van Tassel (does that sound like a stripper name to anyone else?), daughter of a wealthy farm owner. But as Ichabod leaves a party one night, he is chased by the headless ghost of a Hessian soldier whose head was shot off by a cannonball in an unnamed battle. Ichabod vanishes after the encounter, never to be seen again. The story indicates it was merely a clever disguise by Brom Bones to scare off the lanky schoolmaster, but the imagery of the Headless Horseman has burned itself into the monster lexicon. The story was based on an earlier German folktale by Karl Musaus and told brilliantly by Irving.

Real ghost or clever get-up, The Horseman is as much a part of the Halloween monster myth as the vampire or werewolf. Numerous movies, plays, and adaptations have interpreted or given nod to the ghastly rider. I was a big fan of the Disney cartoon version as a kid. I still have the 45rpm with the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane songs.

Another excellent nod to the classic story occurs in the old Kolchak: The Night Stalker TV series episode, “Chopper”, wherein, in a twist, the rider is now a motorcycle gang member accidentally beheaded by other members, upon whom he returns to seek revenge. More recently, the Horseman appeared in episodes of TV’s Charmed and Ghost Whisperer series.

Since this particular monster left such a lasting impression on me, I paid homage to him in the first book of my children’s horror series, The Nightmare Club: The Headless Paperboy. In my book, the kids of The Nightmare Club are terrorized by the headless ghost of a banana-seated stingray bicycle rider, looking for vengeance on the kids who made him nogginless, hurling flaming newspapers at anyone daring to venture near the old New Salem Cemetery. He returns each Halloween, searching for more kids—and their heads—to swipe.

There’s just something inherently creepy about a reanimated headless spook to begin with, but he’s a perfect monster for those shortening October days leading to Halloween. So if you are out with the moon is high and the leaves scratch across the frost-covered ground…and the ghostly echo of hoofbeats drums in the night…beware! And hold onto your head…

Looking for a spooky Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today! Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also available on Nook and in paperback)

Introduction: Chloe Everson

2011-10-19T23:23:00.005-05:00

Miss Chloe Everson

Born: October 31, 19--something. (A girl can't be too free with her age, right?)

Hometown: New Salem, Maine

Closest relatives: Her parents died when she was seven; twin sister's whereabouts unknown.

Chloe Facts: Engaged to Detective Sergeant Arlo Grimm. Has a rescue cat (owner met a grisly death at the hand of witches) named Puddin' head and a spider plant named Bogey. Has latent powers and secrets of which she is presently unaware. Can tie cherry stems together with her tongue.

Occupation: Exotic dancer at the Red Lagoon, demon ass kicker.

Starring Role:

The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes
The Chloe Files #2: Sliver of Darkness

Appearances:

Grimm #1

Author Comments: When Chloe Everson first came to me, asking me to turn her journal notes into books, I was skeptical. I mean, she was telling me some pretty strange and unbelievable things. Six-hundred-year-old monkeys and demons, c'mon! But the more I got to know her and spend time with her, the more I read the things she had written in her journal--the more I saw how deeply scared she was, though she was facing something unknown with more courage than I'd have, the more I began to believe her. And know the word had to go out, warn others what was happening, no matter the risk to myself. Like she says, there's Evil out there...waiting.

Looking for a spooky Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today!
Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...T
HE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also available in Nook and paperback formats)

Clap for the Wolfman

2011-10-19T13:28:00.002-05:00

While sparkly vampires are all the rage right now my favorite monster has turned into sort of a back up player in the fang gang books. I’m thinking pretty soon the fur is gonna fly, as we werewolf lovers unite! Or, I should say, more accurately, we Wolfman type werewolf lovers! I will be using them soon in my own two paranormal horror thriller series, The Nightmare Club for kids (book 4) and The Chloe Files for grown up readers, and they will be your classic Wolfman types, not big dogs with attitudes!

Probably one of the very first horror movies I ever saw was Universal’s The Wolfman with Lon Chaney playing the gypsy-cursed Larry Talbot. Then, of course, came Dark Shadows and Quentin Collins who not only turned into a werewolf with the full moon, but dropped about half a foot in height when he did (note to TV show producers, when you hire a stunt double to take on the werewolf role of your lead actor, find one around the same height and build.)

It was a werewolf on the cover of Brand of the Werewolf that started me on a life-long reading journey with the Doc Savage series. To this day, that werewolf painting it still one of my favorites.

A number of my favorite TV episodes featured the werewolf as well. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea carried at least three werewolf episodes, one where David Hedison, the co-lead, turned into a poorly made-up lycanthrope. But it was pretty thrilling when I was six. Same goes for the Werewolf episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, where a nasty beastie with a bad fuzz mask terrorizes a singles cruise.

There was a pretty good series on the new Fox network in 1987-88 called Werewolf. It starred John J. York as college student Eric Cord, who undergoes the transformation every full moon after a pentagram in blood appears on his palm. Shows were a half-hour but nicely written and followed Cord’s quest to rid himself of the curse. The wolf hunter in the show, played by Chuck Conners in his last TV role, was, incidentally, named after the vampire in the first Night Stalker telefilm, Janos Skorzeny. The series is available on DVD.

It’s time again for the werewolf to reemerge. The recent Wolfman remake was an excellent start and a Twitter writing pal tells me Anne Rice will soon be throwing her paws back into the fray.

What are your favorite werewolf movies, books or TV shows?

Looking for a spooky Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today! Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK
(Also available on Nook, in paperback and in i formats)

Where Did Halloween Come From?

2011-10-18T11:56:00.001-05:00

It’s that time again. Leaves are turning gold and scarlet, a chill is in the air and glowing pumpkins reign. Halloween, one of my favorite times of the year. I love the trick-or-treating, Charlie Brown’s Great Pumpkin special, roasted pumpkin seeds and all the spooky trappings of Halloween. I love the smell of autumn leaves and the way they crackle under your feet. The day and night of All Hallows’ Eve just feels somehow different, shivery, magical. It’s a time to believe in the unseen, release your inhibitions and create new traditions.

But where did Halloween come from?

The ancient Celts believed that on October 31st the boundary between the living and the dead vanished. Halloween, in fact, began with the Celts, as a celebration of the end of harvest known as Samhain (pronounced “sow-wen” in the ancient Gaelic, but, according to Wiccan dictionaries, the pronunciations vary, such as “SAM-hayne”, meaning “End of Summer”). It was sometimes known as the Celtic New Year, and a time for Celtic pagans to take stock of supplies for the coming winter. Costumes and masks harkens back to a tradition of trying to copy or placate evil spirits. In Scotland, young men impersonated the dead by blackening their faces or wearing masks or veils, while dressing in white.

Halloween is a shortened form of All Hallows’ Even (Eve), or the night before the Christian-adopted All Saints Day (though originally these both occurred on the same day. Some have All Saints Day as November 7, as well) On All Hallows’ eve, the ancient Celts placed a lantern carved from a turnip on a window sill, believing the head to be the most powerful part of the body, containing the spirit and the knowledge. Welsh, Irish and English myth are full of legends of the brazen head, which is said by some scholars to go back to the widespread ancient Celtic practice of headhunting, and nailing the noggin to a door lintel or placing it by the fireside to speak their wisdom (I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any talking heads by my fireplace, wise or not). The namfriends and family and to experience the stress release of a good healthy scare! Whether your own traditions involve the ancient origins or more modern spooky observances, I think, especially in hard economic times, it is doubly important to just enjoy the occasion. It is, of course, the horror writer’s New Year too--or maybe Christmas--in many ways, and we just love scaring the crap out of the kiddies! No, not really…well, maybe just a bit! Or maybe it’s the horror writer’s Mardi Gras—hmm, now maybe we could start new traditions with black and orange beads and the flashing of pumpkins…

Looking for a spooky Halloween read? Order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files on Kindle today! Limited time Chloefest price $2.99
Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK

It's Chloefest

2011-10-17T21:34:00.003-05:00

October is Chloefest, so Chloephiles, if you're looking for a spooky Halloween read, you need look no further.

Walk the midnight haunted streets of New Salem, Maine, with Chloe Everson, ass-kicking demon hunter and exotic dancer. Leaves are falling and so is Evil. Follow her as she unlocks the secrets of not only the cursed town established by a renegade band of Salem dark witches, but the terrible things hidden in her past.

Right now for a limited time you can order your copy of the paranormal horror series The Chloe Files #1: Ashes to Ashes on Kindle for the special Chloefest price of $2.99 That's less than a gallon of gas and it'll take you twice as far! Click the link below to order your copy today.

Once Chloe hits the 5000 downbload mark I'll be giving away Chloe mugs and T-shirts and maybe even a monkey, though I will need to check with the ASPCA on that...

Also available on Nook, in iApps and paperback.

Welcome to New Salem...The Dead are waiting...
THE CHLOE FILES #1: Ashes to Ashes by Howard Hopkins
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WLCRYK