This is just a quick post to thank everyone who has supported me and the novel, whether it was picking up a copy or asking about it at your local store, passing out bookmarks or pens, sending me a message with your thoughts, or just talking it up with friends and neighbors or online. Every single thing you do makes a tremendous difference, and I can’t thank you all enough. You’re the reason why I write, and if I can help you escape into a good story I’ve done my job, and I’m happy.

Bloodstone is now nearly sold out of its second printing. I hope to have news pretty soon about some exciting new projects, so stay tuned to this space. If anyone would like to help continue to spread the word, or wants new ideas on how best to do so, please drop me a line at nate@natekenyon.con. I’ll be glad to offer suggestions, and send you some free materials to distribute in any way you see fit.

Talk to you soon!

Why not order a scary book for Halloween? If you buy a copy of Bloodstone on Amazon between now and midnight, Halloween night, send me an email at nate@natekenyon.com and let me know, and I’ll send you a package of free goodies including pens, bookmarks, and a rare chapbook I put together of deleted scenes from the novel! But put your order in fast, time is running out!

Buy Bloodstone on Amazon

“In a voice reminiscent of Stephen King in the days of Salem’s Lot, Nate Kenyon has given us a debut novel laced with terror and filled with ancient secrets. It is very easy to get to know Kenyon’s characters, and once you know them, you have to care. What is most remarkable is that this is a first novel. The prose is smooth; the plot is complex, and tight. The pacing is good, and the interaction between the story, its characters, and the world around them is believable.

Tense and entertaining, this is one of the strongest debut novels to come along in years. Highly recommended.”

- CEMETERY DANCE

For those of you who frequent the Shocklines.com message boards and shop at the store, you know why I’m writing this. For those who don’t, it’s time you did. Shocklines is simply the best online specialty bookstore in the business, and for one main reason: its owner, Matt Schwartz.

What Matt has done has created not just a seamless and satisfying online shopping experience, but an entire community. The Shocklines.com board has become THE place for writers within the horror, mystery and suspense genre to hang out–an Internet cafe of sorts which allows aspiring writers and pros alike to meet, put their feet up and talk about whatever comes to mind. You’ll find big names like Doug Clegg, Tim Lebbon, F. Paul Wilson, Beth Massie, Brian Keene and many others posting there pretty frequently. Threads range from personal announcements to (yikes) political rants to promotion of new work to reviews of the latest releases.

But the key to Shocklines is Matt’s insistence on civility at all times. While many other boards quickly dissolve into name calling and personal attacks, Matt keeps his board clean. That’s not to say that you can’t argue a point, but the arguing is done with respect for others’ opinions. To me, that’s a very important point in this day and age, when it’s all too easy for people to hide behind keyboards and provoke others for no other reason than their own entertainment. It’s a simple thing to be a jerk, and much harder to express your point of view while respecting what others have to say–even if they don’t agree with you.

And what about the store? Well, Matt is focused mainly on horror, both for the casual reader and the collector. There are a lot of items at Shocklines.com that are pretty hard to find elsewhere, and quite a few hidden gems. He’s got a “Guaranteed Good Reads” section that offers a money back guarantee (I’m pleased to say Bloodstone is on the list). There’s free shipping and gift-wrapping too.

So if you haven’t been to Shocklines yet, stop by. Search the store and pick up a few good reads. Check out the message board and see who’s hanging out. Readers, writers, all are welcome. Just check your ego at the door.

Hope to see you there.

The good folks at Novel Journey have recently posted a very nice interview with me. Check it out here!

Acclaimed novelist Christopher Golden (THE MYTH HUNTERS, WILDWOOD ROAD) has taken time out of his busy schedule to interview Nate for Cemetery Dance Publications, one of the leaders in the horror genre. Among the subjects covered are the genesis of the novel, marketing and the new writer, and why Nate chose the name Billy Smith for his protagonist. Check it out here:

Cemetery Dance Interview

This coming Friday, October 13, 2006, is Horror Day. So what does that mean, you ask? Well, it all started with an idea among a few members of the Horror Writers Association of a way to reach out to the world and promote their beloved genre to a wider audience. The idea caught on with a much larger group very quickly, from bloggers to members of the film community to merchandisers. And why not? Friday the 13th, in October, is the perfect hook. And horror hasn’t been this strong in years: horror films are pulling in big bucks at the box office, big publishing houses are rolling out more horror-oriented titles, and small presses are popping up all over the place.

Horror Day is a purely grassroots effort, spread by word of mouth and given focus by the Horror Day MySpace page. There are a lot of neat prizes up for grabs there, for those who come up with the most unique promotional effort around the holiday. I hope you get the chance to stop by and check it out. Who knows? Maybe you’ll come up with the best idea of all, and win something. It’s worth a shot…horror lovers of the world, unite!

“Bloodstone by Nate Kenyon gives the state of Maine another reason to fear the dark. Atmospheric, creepy and fun, Bloodstone delivers the spooky goods!”
–JONATHAN MABERRY, author of Ghost Road Blues and Vampire Universe

Apex Digest, one of the best new sci fi and horror magazines, is in trouble. A number of kind souls have gotten together to set up a raffle to raise money for Jason Sizemore, editor and founder of Apex and general all-around good guy.

There are lots of great prizes–a signed copy of Bloodstone, for instance :)– and it’s only a buck to enter each drawing. The raffle ends Friday, September 29 at midnight.

Check it out! Thanks.

Save Apex Raffle

Reading ‘Bloodstone,’ Nate Kenyon’s debut novel, is a lot like taking a vacation inside a pressure cooker. From the prologue to the final pages, the reader is drawn through a scary, intense world full of damaged but redeemable characters, disturbing imagery, a cursed amulet, the living dead and forbidden love. For Maine readers, the book may be particularly scary, as they will recognize many locations described by the author, himself a Maine native. This familiarity brings the horror that much closer to home.

In the classic tradition of such horror greats as Stephen King and Peter Straub, Nate Kenyon has created the fictional town of White Falls, Maine, one of the prettiest villages you would never want to call home. White Falls is a town with a secret, which is only completely revealed to the reader in the novel’s climactic ending. The novel spans centuries, starting with the terrible corruption of one of White Falls founding fathers. Drawn to Maine by his own nightmares, Billy Smith is a pawn in an ancient game over which he seemingly has no control. His partner in this adventure is a West Coast drug addict, a beautiful but lost girl named Angel.

Kenyon’s true gift lies in his ability to terrify readers without resorting to graphic gore. While there are a few bloody messes over the course of the novel, by and large it is in Kenyon’s subtlety that the real horror lies. Kenyon’s characters seem like real people, fragile, flawed, but most of all loving. ‘Bloodstone’ is a horror novel, but it is also a novel about love and redemption, about letting go of the past and becoming the hero of your own life.

Nate Kenyon may not be a household name yet, but if ‘Bloodstone’ is any indication, he is on his way. Horror fans everywhere can look forward to Kenyon’s next effort. Let’s hope he doesn’t keep us waiting for too long.