Author: Jennifer Barnes

It's been announced that ODD MEN OUT by Matt Betts is a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award. Less than 10% of the titles under consideration become finalists so we're quite honored that it received this recognition You can see a complete list of winners here. In addition, the cover that Bradley Sharp created for the book is also a DaVinci Eye finalist! Congratulations to Bradley Sharp who works hard to infuse every cover he creates for us with the true essence of the book inside. He is also the single force behind the cohesive look and feel of Dog Star Books. See the complete list of book covers recognized by The Eric Hoffer Award. Check out Brad's website for more amazing art.  

Congratulations to Dog Star Books author Albert Wendland who was recently named Professor of the Year by Seton Hill University. Wendland received his award during Spring Convocation and was also honored to give the keynote speech. In true writerly fashion he told a story instead. You can read the text of the speech here. Wendland has been at Seton Hill for over 30 years and was instrumental in helping to create their unique writing program. He is currently the Director of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University and his first novel, The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes will be released by Raw Dog Screaming Press' science fiction imprint, Dog Star Books, in July.

We were extremely excited to hear that Publishers Weekly has given The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes by Albert Wendland a starred review and made it the Pick of the Week! This is the first time one of our titles has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. "In Wendland’s intricately plotted, character-driven debut, pulp exploration meets philosophical speculation, and a moralistic sensibility is fused with Philip K. Dick’s paranoid fantasies and Ray Bradbury’s awe of alien encounters.…Impending doom pervades ripping action scenes, the Lovecraftian theme of ancient warring aliens lends cosmic menace and authenticity to a grandiose mystery…deeply absorbing."—Publishers Weekly starred review The Man Who Love Alien Landscapes is currently available for pre-order and will debut at Confluence 2014 in Pittsburgh, PA, July 25-27.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RAW DOG SCREAMING PRESS ACQUIRES ANTI-OEDIPUS PRESS Raw Dog Screaming Press has acquired worldwide rights to publish all future and backlist titles from Anti-Oedipus Press under the imprint of the same name, effective immediately. Dedicated to publishing high-quality fiction and nonfiction, Anti-Oedipus Press was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2013 by novelist, editor and English professor D. Harlan Wilson, who has described the mission of A-OP as follows: "Anti-Oedipus Press is a publisher of literary 'schiz-flows' that aspire to chart new boundaries in narrative and theory. Taking our cue from the poststructuralist writings of Deleuze and Guattari, A-OP publishes authors who write to the Nth power, making rhizomes instead of roots and sculpting innovative bodies without organs in the form of fiction, nonfiction, literary criticism, cultural studies and pop philosophy."…

The cover that Bradley Sharp created for ODD MEN OUT by Matt Betts is a DaVinci Eye finalist! Congratulations to Bradley Sharp who works hard to infuse every cover he creates for us with the true essence of the book inside. He is also the single force behind the cohesive look and feel of Dog Star Books. See the complete list of book covers recognized by The Eric Hoffer Award. Check out Brad's website for more amazing art.

We have two amazing poetry collections up for pre-order this month. Pre-order both to get $3 off AND a set of our Fridge of the Damned poetry magnets for free! Mourning Jewelry by Stephanie Wytovich Embrace the Hideous Immaculate by Chad Hensley Fridge of the Damned poetry magnets$22 (includes shipping in the U.S.) If you have already pre-ordered either of these books and would like to upgrade to this deal just send an email to books@rawdogscreaming.com and we'll set you up.

$11.95 Paperback ISBN: 978-1-935738-64-0 Pre-order here Embrace the Hideous Immaculate is an excursion through nightmarish landscapes, vast alien terrains and shallow earthly trenches. Within these realms of darkness await outer space monstrosities, ancient undead goddesses, serial killer prophets, and revenants from the Deep South and South Pacific. Bram Stoker Award nominee, Chad Hensley, pushes the reader face first off a cliff and into the bottomless, abyssal plain where vast horrors lurk underground in cities made from infant bones. In a collection that marries literary and contemporary horror, Hensley uses gothic subtext with a modern spin to send the living to the grave while the dead rise and walk the streets. The poetry contained inEmbrace the Hideous Immaculate is unflinching and grotesque, mixing gore and depravity with verse that is both evocative and…

Cover Reveal: MOURNING JEWELRY by Stephanie Wytovich This poetry collection is the follow-up to Wytovich's Bram Stoker nominated collection, Hysteria. Both covers were painted by artist Steven Archer. Mourning Jewelry is scheduled to be released May 8th but you can pre-order now.   Mourning is the new black… The tradition of Victorian mourning jewelry began with Queen Elizabeth after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. Without photography, mementos of personal remembrance were used to honor the dead so that their loved ones could commemorate their memory and keep their spirits close. Ashes were placed within rings, and necklaces were made out of hair, and the concept of death photography, small portraitures of the deceased, were often encased behind glass. Mourning jewelry became a fashion statement as much as a way…

  Reader's Choice Ballot Announced Our Reader's Choice poll, which narrows the field to 8 candidates, has closed. Now we will call in the 2nd round judges who will read all 8 books and nominate the 3 best. A celebrity judge will choose the final winner.   2nd Round Ballot Winners Announced: Martyrs and Holymen by Larry Fondation Cog by K. Ceres Wright The Devil and Preston Black by Jason Jack Miller Greenshift by Heidi Ruby Miller The Revelations of Preston Black by Jason Jack Miller Odd Men Out by Matt Betts Wraiths of the Broken Land by S. Craig Zahler Red Horses by Donna Lynch

Narrowing the Field Once our Reader's Choice Poll selects 8 books for judging we'll need the help of some readers to come up with the top 3 candidates. Below is a list of our 2nd round judges. Once they've decided on the top 3 candidates we'll bring in a celebrity judge to pick the winner.   Katherine Ervin is a physics major at New College of Florida, presumably for past-life transgressions. She attended the Alpha Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Workshop for Young Writers in 2010 and 2012, where she was recommended so many books that she is still working through the list in 2014. Her favorite author so far is Scott Lynch, though Franny Billingsley and Brooke Bolander are close behind. When she isn't reading, she enjoys writing, fencing, and…

Pre-order Now What could draw poet, explorer, loner and paranoid Mykol Ranglen away from the relative peace of his own ring-in-space habitat?  He has no choice in the matter as one by one acquaintances are murdered or disappear altogether. Propelled by ever changing and deepening mysteries Mykol embarks to uncover secrets which could make people rich beyond their wildest dreams…or tear apart human civilization. The escalating quest takes him through worlds of many dangerous extremes, leading him to confront the deadly alien Fist of Thorns, extinct species refusing to give up their power over the future, and those racing against him to uncover the secret first. But in the course of his pursuit, he must also face his own secrets. And some of these are even more dangerous. The Man Who…

The Biographizer Trilogy Excerpt #3 Read the first 7 chapters of Douglass: The Lost Autobiography (Book #3 in the Biographizer Trilogy) from D. Harlan Wilson here. Buy the book direct, from Amazon or on Kindle You can buy the complete trilogy, signed until Friday, March 13th for a discount here. (Publisher's Note: The author failed to fold my laundry in the proper manner, so I am letting the cat out of the bag-these are not actual biographies. They are closer to maps of the author's ego than they are texts about the namesakes adorning their covers. So, if you want to read about Freud or Douglass or Hitler I suggest you do so elsewhere.) Frederick Douglass stands as one of American history's most extraordinary figures, overcoming the evils of slavery and…

Excerpt from Freud: The Penultimate Biography by D. Harlan Wilson I spent years with Tibetan monks so that I could learn how to lower my pulse rate to zero and effectively stop my heart from beating. After awhile people thought I was dead and tried to bury me. Hence the expression: “Everybody’s gravedigger.” The experience was as exhilarating as it was utterly pedestrian and inoperable. I told my therapist about it and in the next breath negated my pulse. My therapist yanked me off the chaise and got a shovel and tried to bury me. I left the building. Outside my father was waiting for me with a shovel and he tried to bury me too. I told Dad to take it easy and he reluctantly acquiesced, but he had already informed the neighbors of my demise, and they showed up with…

We need your help! We are launching a Reader's Choice Award for RDSP titles first published in 2013 (excludes reprints) but we need to narrow down the field. Help us by choosing up to 3 books that you think should be consider for the award. This round of voting will narrow the field down to 8 titles. A team of readers will then evaluate those to get to the final 3. Celebrity judges will pick the winner. in this initial poll anyone can vote and choose up to three books. You can only vote once. Thanks for your participation! [polldaddy poll=7822883]

RDSP Blog Series Kit 'N Kabookle recently included us in a blog series from authors sharing their reader experiences. We were particularly glad to be included since that fits well for our Year of the Reader celebration. Several RDSP authors participated. Here's a link roundup: Jake Fuchs Scott Thomas Michael Gills K. Ceres Wright Heidi Ruby Miller John Edward Lawson

Chapter 5 • Hitler: The Terminal Biography by D. Harlan Wilson buy direct      buy from Amazon      buy ebook “I’m on the ledge! I’m going to kill myself!” I was in fact on a ledge and I had a knife. But I had no intention of committing suicide. She broke up with me and I felt bad, though. I cried out as if stabbing myself. “I’m stabbing myself! There, and there! G’bye.” I called her back five minutes later. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t stab myself. I don’t plan to. Can we just talk? Let me tell you my side of the story.” She didn’t want to hear it. Her decision was final. I had been a rebound. She didn’t even like me and she wasn’t really attracted to me.…

Ladies and Other Vicious Creatures Now on Kindle Previously only available as a limited edition chapbook, we've now released Donna Lynch's Ladies and Other Vicious Creatures in an ebook edition on Amazon. This edition does include the interior artwork from Steven Archer as well as a new cover from him. However, the limited edition comes signed and includes a CD that is not available elsewhere.   Book Description In this new collection of poetry Lynch pays homage to her muses and explores their dark beauty. Whether victims or victors, scarred or unblemished, she casts light on all their qualities; their shameful purity and their endearingly vile ways. With a scavenger’s eye for treasure she reveals tantalizing possibilities glimpsed briefly. And for a short time the muse peers back at us both from…

Kindle Countdown Deal for SICK Buy the eBook edition of Sick: An Anthology of Illness on sale at Amazon.com   From the Back of the Book Here the pen is not merely mightier than the sword; it is a plague heralding the apocalypse for convention, writing a dirge for complacency. Sick is an anthology compiled by editor John Edward Lawson. Themes explored are physical, mental, and societal in nature. These Sick stories are horrendous, hilarious, and stupefying dissections of creative minds on the scalpel’s edge.   What They’re Saying About Sick “Stories by Harold Jaffe, Greg Beatty, Earl Javorsky, Brandi Bell, Kevin L. Donihe and satan165 (hilarious stuff) all display the combination of inventiveness and professionalism needed for success in this gray area of prose. Many of the other authors show outright…

Announcing 2014 as RDSP's Year of the Reader We had so much fun celebrating our 10th anniversary all year long in 2013 that we didn't want to end the party. But we decided we needed something new to celebrate and figured it should be the most important but sometimes forgotten part of the publishing equation—the reader! So we're designating 2014 as RDSP's Year of the Reader. We'll be kicking things off with a series of blog posts at Kit 'n Kabookle from authors about their favorite reading experiences. There will be reader spotlights and reader-centric events. We also plan to launch the RDSP Reader's Choice Award where readers will name their favorite RDSP title published in 2013. If you know of a reader that you think deserves to be featured,…

D. Harlan Wilson is back with a trilogy of what, at first glance, appear to be biographies of famous historical figures. Don't be fooled! They are, in fact, quite entertaining and only historical in a very loose sense of the word. The author failed to fold my laundry in the proper manner, so I am letting the cat out of the bag—these are not actual biographies. They are closer to maps of the author’s ego than they are texts about the namesakes adorning their covers. So, if you want to read about Freud or Douglass or Hitler I suggest you do so elsewhere.

RDSP-Related Eligible Works to Consider for Nomination You can vote if you are registered for the World Fantasy Convention this year or were registered for 2012 or 2013. You can nominate up to 5 things in each category, you must nominate in at least two categories. The nomination form is here. Eligible for Nomination to the Ballot: NOVEL 1) The Kyoto Man by D. Harlan Wilson 2) Odd Men Out by Matt Betts 3) Red Horses by Donna Lynch 4) The Revelations of Preston Black by Jason Jack Miller 5) The Seventh Equinox by Matthew Warner   SHORT FICTION 1) "Zapruder" by D. Harlan Wilson, published in Fiction International 46 2) "Playing the Long Game" by John Edward Lawson, published in Fiction International 46   ANTHOLOGY 1) The Irreal Reader edited by…

Timed discount for Anti-Twitter ebook We're currently running a deal on the Kindle edition of Anti-Twitter: 150 50-Word Stories by Harold Jaffe. It's just .99 cents today, if you miss it the price will go up but it will still be discounted until Friday: download here. About Anti-Twitter These 50-word stories are based on “found” texts from mainstream news sources and other public sites. Jaffe sculpts them to reveal their inner core, all niceties stripped away. Now the true motives, fears and sins of our age are on display for all who care to see. Amidst an internet-driven content boom, meaning has virtually disappeared. Anti-Twitter’s extreme brevity demonstrates by example that brief need not = dumbed-down. Though the stories describe a wide arc: high and pop culture, intimate and public, sordid…

Stephanie Wytovich Graduates from SHU's Writing Popular Fiction Program Huge congrats to RDSP author and poetry editor Stephanie Wytovich on receiving her M.F.A. from Seton Hill University in Writing Popular Fiction. Stephanie is one of the hardest working, enthusiastic and driven people we know, yet she still manages to be fun. We're  proud to know her and thankful to have her on our team. So we wanted to take a moment to congratulate her on her accomplishment and wish her the best of luck in all future endeavors. Check out the photo gallery for some of Stephanie's recent exploits.       [gallery columns="4" ids="2405,2404,2399,2387,2386,2153,1909,1908,1846,1835,1780,1752,1676,1526,1522" orderby="rand"]

Timed discount for Health Agent ebook We're currently running a deal on the Kindle edition of Health Agent by Jeffrey Thomas. It's just .99 cents today, if you miss it the price will go up but it will still be discounted until Friday: download here. Health Agent is a novel set in Jeffrey Thomas' trademark Punktown universe, filled with marvelous and deadly things for the reader to discover. This book combines noir sensibilities with a Mos Eisley cantina cast of characters and showcases Thomas' wild imagination. Gritty but enticing, Punktown always delivers fascinating stories and unexpected situations. Let the adventure begin! Punktown's health agents are charged with keeping the public safe from infectious disease. Between inter-planetary travel, super-mutant strains of bacteria and criminal genetic manipulation they certainly keep busy. But…

You can enter to win a signed copy of Corpus Chrome, Inc. by S. Craig Zahler. This novel has just been released by our Science Fiction imprint, Dog Star Books and received a starred review from Booklist. People in ALL COUNTRIES are eligible to enter the contest. Goodreads Book Giveaway Corpus Chrome, Inc. by S. Craig Zahler Giveaway ends February 11, 2014. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win Who should be given a second chance at life?  Decades in the future Corpus Chrome, Inc. develops a robotic body, dubbed a “mannequin,” that can revive, sustain and interface with a cryonically-preserved human brain. Like all new technology, it is copyrighted. Hidden behind lawyers and a chrome facade, the inscrutable organization resurrects a variety of notable minds, pulling the…