In his hometown of New Warfield, Detective Ezekiel Marrs faces a spate of illegal drug overdoses, ritual murders, and a malignant version of voudon religion resulting in a deadly contest of wit and willpower. Until Marrs can determine how all of these are connected, no one in the city is safe—man, woman, or child.
No stranger to the suspense genre, Weldon Burge is a seasoned short story writer and editor whose prowess is evident in this deftly crafted debut novel.
You’ve come to a place where ghost stories, whodunits, and tales of vengeance and suspense meet in new and terrifying ways.
In this unique collection of short stories in English and Spanish by James Gallahan, the reader is taken on a journey to the crossroads of good and evil, life and death.
If you enjoy tales with twists and unexpected endings that make you want to sleep with the light on, then this nail-biting collection is for you.
Ready to take on the unknown? Prepare yourself for The Crossroads premiering October 24!
While you’re at it, check out James Gallahan’s debut novel, Dead Man’s Cave.
A crew of pirates and a famed treasure ship. Can a gifted captain steal a fortune, and then keep it against impossible odds?
It is 1695, and a fleet of pirate ships led by Henry Avery captures the Emperor of India’s treasure ship, plundering it of a fortune in money and jewels. This amazing heist makes Avery the richest pirate in the world.
The emperor’s soldiers will do anything to reclaim the treasure, and now Avery is a man on the run. He is chased up one coast and down another, ending up in New York fighting against great odds to keep his ill-gotten fortune.
A sinister enemy with wide underground connections is poised to attack and destroy Avery and everything he cares about. Plus, the cave where Avery attempts to hide his loot is protected by fierce creatures the indigenous people call Mhuwe.
Dead Man’s Cave is filled with astonishing twists and captivating action. If you like reading adventure stories, tales of horror set in dark caves, and endings you didn’t see coming, then you’ll love James Gallahan’s debut novel.
Get Dead Man’s Cave today and be swept away on the adventure of your life.
Despite a grueling drive from the Lehigh Valley, I arrived at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, NJ only 30 minutes later than I’d planned on Friday evening. While in line to check in, I was greeted by the ever-cheerful Sharon VanBlarcom, Farpoint chairwoman. Minutes later, we were joined by the Wilson crew— Steve, Renee, Ethan, and Jessica Headlee.
After a late dinner at Houlihan’s (thank you again, Sharon, for driving!) Steve presented me with a contributor copy of our double horror novel—a thing of beauty if I say so myself. Immense gratitude to Ethan Wilson on his incredible design and formatting. We called it a night after that and regrouped for breakfast the following at the Westmont Diner. With a few hours to spare, we visited a few local shops, including HO Sattler’s Trains and Hobbies, Fat Jack’s Comicrypt, and House of Fun—a vintage toy shop in Oaklyn, NJ.
By the time I returned to the hotel for my noon panel, I was struggling with mild nausea and a severe headache. I skipped the panel, took a moment to breathe, and strolled the dealer room where I managed to score a near mint condition autographed copy of Harlan Ellison’s 1987 graphic anthology, Night and the Enemy for $35. I also added several more vintage paperbacks to my collection from Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and A.E. Van Vogt. I stopped by the Shore Leave table to catch up with good friend and astronomer, Dr. Inge Heyer, who also happens to be Shore Leave’s co-chair and writer liaison.
Although my nausea abated, I relented to the headache and took a nap in my room before celebrating the release of my latest novella, Like Mother, Like Daughters, part of a double horror offering along with Steven H. Wilson’s vampire tale, Freedom’s Blood. Our book launch was held in the convention suite with pizzas (thank you for making the run, Renee!), kiffles (fruit-filled pastries), and Hershey’s Kisses that I had brought with me. Con Suite coordinator Gene Olmstead served some of his home made birch beer. We sold a few books, gave copies to two of our Kickstarter donors, Sharon VanBlarcom and Ann Stolinsky, and enjoyed a fun but hectic hour. I stole away to chat with veteran author and graphic designer Aaron Rosenberg, who had kindly snagged for me a vintage ACE edition of A.E. Van Vogt’s The Weapon Makers from the free book table. Thanks again, Aaron!
After cleaning up and heading out to dinner, Steve and I took time to sign all of the paperbacks necessary to fulfill Kickstarter rewards and “thank you” copies for our advance readers. A few hours later, I finally attended my first panel of the convention— a retrospective on the life and career of legendary writer, Harlan Ellison. I was honored to have been chosen as moderator and to be joined by writers Jay Smith, Darrell Schweitzer, and Mark Wolverton. Much of the panel was devoted to anecdotes of Harlan’s infamously intractable personality, but also to his blunt honesty and integrity in standing up for himself and his fellow writers. Some of us shared our personal interactions with Harlan and pondered whether many of his outrageous acts of revenge against publishers and television producers were truth or folklore. All in all, the panel capped off my Saturday night on a high note.
On Sunday, I packed up the car and moderated my final panel of the con, What Your Body Language Says About You, with co-panelist Mary Spila. There was a great deal of audience participation as we discussed the signals we send with our posture and body language— especially on the topics of personal safety and flirtatious behavior— but also during job interviews and social interactions. We also touched on the topics of misreading body language, and the various interpretations of body language across diverse cultures.
After the panel, I sat with Sharon VanBlarcom at the Farpoint table for an hour or so to unwind before bringing to an end another marvelous Philcon.
A marvelous time was had by all yesterday evening at the book launch party for A Plague of Shadows, the latest paranormal fiction anthology by Smart Rhino Publications. The launch was graciously hosted by the Newark Arts Alliance in Newark, DE.
A special thank you to editors Joanne M. Reinbold (Director of the Written Remains Writers Guild) and Weldon Burge (owner of Smart Rhino Publications) and to emcee and fellow contributor Maria Masington who kept the evening on track. Approximately half of the contributing authors were on hand and some read excerpts not only from their own stories, but from stories of contributors who could not attend.
I had a wonderful time reading my story, “Bottom of the Hour” and signing several copies of the book in addition to asking my fellow writers to do the same for my own copy and for some of my friends who donated to the Kickstarter that helped fund the publication. I now have a few books to hand deliver.
There were door prizes and yes, there was cake! Check out pictures from the event below. There were a few writers that I missed including Jacob Jones-Goldstein, Shannon Connor Winward, and Gail Husch (who also arranged all of the food and beverages for the launch).
More than half of the authors published in Beach Nights gathered in Browseabout Books between 2-4PM today to celebrate the release of this fourth annual Rehoboth Beach Reads anthology by Cat and Mouse Press.
To say the turnout was impressive would be an understatement. Many books were signed, much cake and wine consumed, and it was a joy to finally meet editor and publisher Nancy Sakaduski and several of my fellow contributing authors. My heartfelt gratitude to Nancy for all of her hard work on the Rehoboth Beach Reads contest from editing to publishing to arranging the book launch and everything in between!
Special thanks also to writer pal Susanna Reilly for making the trip from PA to show her support and to her dad for buying lunch at the Purple Parrot!
After the signing was over, I took the time to kick off my flip-flops and hit the beach for about 20 minutes before making the journey home with yet more fond memories of this wonderful town that has become my second home.
