A reading and signing at the Bookland Cafe and bookstore in Brunswick, Maine, on Saturday, July 8, at 1 pm.

Dresden author returns to roots
Nate Kenyon to attend book signing

BY AARON MILLER

BRUNSWICK — Nate Kenyon remembers writing his first book when he was just eight years old, using carbon paper and a typewriter to sell copies of “The White Horse” to family members for 25 cents apiece.
His passion for reading and writing continued past his graduation from Wiscasset High School, beyond Trinity College and into today as the director of communications and marketing at Boston College Law.
In January, the Dresden native published another book. And at the age of 35 Kenyon has swapped his boyhood stories for a darker sort of thrill ride. On July 8, Kenyon will attend a reading and signing of his book, “Bloodstone” at Bookland Cafe in Brunswick (1 p.m.)
The story tells of a recovering alcoholic on the run from his past.
Plot synopsis: All Billy Smith wants is to be is left alone. But the visions that torture his every living moment will not let him rest. Commanded by the voices in his head to commit acts of violence he does not understand, he kidnaps a prostitute known only as Angel and heads north to a bucolic little New England town called White Falls. There, the two strangers try to blend in while they struggle to understand the bizarre circumstances that have brought them together. But in this town all is not what it seems. Something monstrous has taken root in White Falls, and has waited centuries for the right time to awaken.
During his teen-age years, Kenyon received an awakening of his own. He grew up reading the Hardy Boys mysteries and eventually graduated to the horror of Stephen King.
“His books really opened my eyes to adult fiction,” Kenyon said. “I thought, this is really intense emotional stuff.”
And Kenyon is no stranger to those feelings.
When he was eight years old his father was killed in a car crash and at the age of 13, his mother died of cancer.
“There’s no question that those events shaped the way I view things,” he said. “Looking back at ‘Bloodstone’ it has references to cancer and sickness that I didn’t really know was in there at first.”
Kenyon and his sister, Amanda, were raised by their aunt, Jenni Brown, of Newcastle. He admitted to feeling isolated after losing his parents and spent his time reading and writing.
“I always wanted to be a writer and right out of college I started writing,” he said.
He had a close call with a novel, but his publisher went belly up, he said. He wrote a few other books and had some close calls with agents and in spite of financial and moral support from his grandfather, Edward Kenyon, he moved on to other interests.
“It’s not like getting a lottery ticket and all of a sudden it happens,” he said.
He caught a break when he contacted editor and author Ed Gorman and Kenyon landed a contract with Thomson Gale, a publisher who specializes in mainly textbooks based in Waterville. About 1,500 to 2,000 of his books were printed in January, an experience he called “surreal.” But he wasn’t over the hump yet and needed to focus on promoting his novel.
“I knew this would be a real battle,” he said. “There was a lot of work involved promoting on line, creating a trailer, pens, bookmarks and flyers. There wasn’t a heck of a lot time to sit back and appreciate it.”
Publishing “Bloodstone” has changed Kenyon’s life, he said. He’s traveling more to attend book signings and networking to promote the possibility of a movie. Kenyon currently lives with his wife, Nicole, and three children in Newton, Mass., and enjoys coming back to Maine when he has the chance.
“Maine, I think, gets in your blood,” he said. “I’ve been away for a while and it will always be part of me.”

Aaron Miller may be reached at amiller@courierpub.com

Book review: Lincoln County Weekly

Author’s ties with Maine bring novel close to home

By Rachel E.A. Greene
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.

I wrote a journal entry a few weeks back about the dangers of vanity/subsidy publishing, and I’ve been meaning to do a follow-up. Mark Rainey just did it for me at Storytellers Unplugged. But he goes one further, discussing the allure of the many different shortcuts from vanity presses to online ‘zines to book doctors. It’s all about paying your dues, and unfortunately, there aren’t many ways around it if you want to break through as a writer, and be taken seriously by the industry. I’ve felt the frustration, I know it’s tough; but if you’re good enough, and willing to work hard, you can make it.

Check out Mark’s column here.

I’ve slacked off long enough: it’s time to give a brief rundown on the Stoker Awards weekend, which took place at the Hilton in Newark, NJ on June 16-18. Nicole and I drove (yes, drove, through Co-op City and New York traffic) down on Saturday morning, which meant that we missed all the fun partying on Friday night. No way to avoid it, really, since we were paying $250 for a sitter already and another night would have broken the bank. A good sitter is going to cost you around here, but our kids are still alive and so I can’t complain. And Casey IS good; the only sitter our four year old actually looks forward to seeing.

Anyway, after countless traffic jams we finally arrived at the Hilton and checked in around 3 pm, running into a handful of friends right there in the nicely appointed lobby: Mike Arnzen, Nick Kaufmann, Nanci Kalanta, Kelly Laymon, Lee Thomas, Matt Schwartz, Mary Sangiovanni and several others. After chatting a while, Nicole and I made it to David Morrell’s “life-changing” discussion on the publishing industry, and platforms for writers. David is one of my all-time favorite writers, and he clearly has a head for the business side of things as well. I found his points insightful, sobering and right on the money. You see, publishing is all about marketing these days (what isn’t?), and new writers would do well, David says, if they pitched the marketing hook for their book, rather than the plot. Written a killer novel about a bunch of people who like to break in and explore deserted buildings (the plot of Morrell’s newest, Creepers)? Don’t pitch that to an agent–pitch the term “urban explorer,” and then tell them why every thrill seeker in America will want to read this book. Editors these days don’t much care about the story, at least not at first. What they care about (or what the marketing department cares about) is, “who is the target audience, and can I sell it?” Everything else is just noise.

Good advice, indeed.

When the discussion was over, I spent some time chatting with Neil Clarke from Clarkesworld Books, one of the best horror/sci fi/fantasy bookstores in the business. I found him to be an intelligent, soft-spoken and very personable guy, and I was glad I’d had the chance to meet him. After that, it was time for the author signing/meet-and-greet.

I rushed off to grab copies of my book and lugged them down to the signing area. It was fairly quiet when I arrived, but filled up fast. I met a great group of young writers, and we talked about the publishing business for a while before I made the rounds and spoke to Mike Laimo, Kelly Laymon, Nanci Kalanta and a bunch of others, and got myself interviewed by the Horror Channel. I also had the chance to meet three of the greatest guys: Chris Cevasco from Paradox, Doug Cohen from Realms of Fantasy, and John Joseph Adams from Fantasy and Science Fiction. They work for some of my very favorite magazines, and I was thrilled to find them all very pleasant and interesting folks. We talked a little bit about the differences in writing novels versus short fiction, and then I realized that almost everyone was already dressed up, and the banquet would be starting in less than five minutes. So I rushed up to my room, threw on my suit and ran back downstairs, just in time to find my seat.

The banquet itself was pretty good. The food was excellent (a big, thick steak as the main course, and a delicious chocolate cake for dessert), and the award winners all gave good speeches. Tom Monteleone was his usual hilariously abrasive self during the welcoming speech. I was glad to see Weston Oche win for first novel (Scarecrow Gods), and Mike Arnzen take home another trophy, and David Morrell win best novel. I was also glad that Joe Hill won two Stokers, since I think his collection 20th Century Ghosts is one of the best in recent memory. Write down that name, folks: Joe Hill is going to be big.

It was good to see Necessary Evil Press get an award; Don Koish is one of the best in the business. The highlight of the evening was probably Peter Straub giving his acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award; the man is simply a huge talent, and he knows how to play a room.

And then, just like that, it was over. We were left with a rapidly dwindling crowd, but we stuck around for a while to chat with Joe Hill’s wife, then David Morrell and Tom Monteleone. After that we went up to a room party and had fun hanging out with a bunch of other writers until security shut us down.

We wandered down into the main lobby, and then to the bar area. It was getting late, but we didn’t want to pack it in. Finally, after saying a few goodnights and goodbyes, we called it a night.

All in all, a very good trip. I saw old friends and met new ones; spread copies of Bloodstone around to some people and talked a lot about writing and publishing; and generally had a great time. Stoker Weekend is a little different than the usual conventions, but no less interesting. I’m glad I went, and I’ll surely do it again next year.

So, until next time…

Check out the full page spread in the Newton, MA newspaper: click here.

Dark Krypt has posted a lengthy interview on their website. Check it out here.

I’m a member of International Thriller Writers, a new group that’s really hit the ground running during the past year. They’re releasing a brand-new anthology called THRILLER: Stories to Keep You up All Night, and it’s going to be a good one.

Edited by James Patterson (Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider and many more), THRILLER is the first collection of pure thriller stories ever published. There are 32 brand new stories here, from some of the biggest names in the business including David Morrell, Lee Child, and John Lescroart, as well as four of the hottest new voices in the genre.

I’m really looking forward to this one, and if you’d like to check it out (or read a free story), go here: thrillerbook.com. Also make sure to check out the section under tour, to find out which authors are going to be coming to a store near you.

Here’s what a handful of big stars had to say about this one:

“Undoubtedly the greatest gathering of genre authors in one volume, Thriller is an unprecedented, adrenaline-inducing masterwork.”

— Paul Goat Allen - B&N’s Explorations and Ransom Notes Editor

“Outstanding anthology….Lovers of crime fiction in general and well-told action tales in particular will be well rewarded.”

— Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“The best of the best storytellers in the business. Thriller has no equal. Action, intrigue, and entertainment at the highest level. Adventure on a grand scale you won’t forget.”

— Clive Cussler

“Breathless, explosive, exhilarating. The perfect combination of spine-tingling and heart-pounding suspense. Keep your night light on for this one.”

— Sandra Brown

“Thriller is like a box of the best chocolates — bite-sized, delicious, and totally addictive. A collection of stories by some of the best writers in the thriller business — what’s not to love?”

— Joe Finder

“Thriller is entertaining, fast-paced, and just plain fun. It will take you to the most terrifying heights of suspense.”

— Tess Gerritsen

“Intrigue and suspense merge in this electrifying collection from an all-star lineup. Thirty stories at 300 miles-per-hour. Prepare to be thrilled from start to finish.”

— Vince Flynn

“Thriller will be a classic. This first-ever collection of thriller stories, from the best in the business, has it all. The quality blew me away.”

— Greg Iles

I’m not ashamed to admit it: I’m a “24″ fan. When Jack Bauer growls “we’re running out of time!” just before he takes out three guards en route to jacking a slimeball up against the wall by the throat, I stand up and cheer. Think Jack’s too exhausted (after foiling twenty-seven murders, several kidnappings and going hand-to-hand with several very bad men) to take point on a special-ops mission and foil a nerve gas attack? Think again. There he is, sliding out of that chopper in all-black and leading his well-oiled machine into battle. And Jack doesn’t hesitate when there are lives on the line–he’ll make the right call for the greater good, even if it means a few innocent lives will end. Blow up the pipeline so the nerve gas can’t escape into the population? Brilliant. And how did he survive that tremendous explosion, you ask? Don’t be silly. This is Jack Bauer, modern-day Superman. He can do anything.

I’ve read two great articles recently on the allure of “24.” The first is from the New Republic, and it makes the argument (among other things) that the show is a sign of our times, in the same way “All in the Family” was for the 70s, and “Seinfeld” was for the 90s. The turn of the century marked a new dawn in America, one that has been rocked by terrorist attacks and uncertainty about our own safety, which is an unfamiliar feeling indeed. Not since the Cold War (and perhaps not even then) has this country felt so vulnerable. We’re not just concerned with a foreign government launching a nuclear warhead at America, as we were then: we’re concerned with a bunch of faceless lunatics who want to hit the most innocent victims possible in very personal ways. These are not the world leaders you can watch and despise on tv; these are the boogymen from our closet. Kidnappings and beheadings are up on the Internet. It’s all so much more intimate and creepy. It’s a different world, a more dangerous one; or perhaps it’s the same old world, and Americans are finally being made aware of it.

Enter Jack Bauer and “24.” A hero for our times. A man who doesn’t hesitate to “do what’s right,” even if it costs him the people who are most dear to his heart. Bauer is more than a hero, in fact; he’s a superhero, and the argument can be made that this is what Americans want so desperately right now. Having grown up on comic books and Superman cartoons, when faced with such overwhelming evil, we naturally look skyward for the Bat-signal and wonder if there really is someone out there who is more than human.

And in fact, if you carefully analyze “24″ on a number of levels, the analogy works. It is, more than any other show on television, a comic book on screen. This leads me to the second great article I’ve read recently, from The Boston Globe: Like a superhero comic, ‘24′ thrives in a two-dimensional world. And that’s the brilliance of this show: we want larger than life, escapist fiction, we crave it, and “24″ delivers.

But really, when all is said and done, who cares about all that? “24″ is fun. It’s creepy, and tense, and dark, and completely unpredictable. Except, of course, for one thing: Jack Bauer will save the day. That much is written in stone.

The 2-hour season finale starts Monday at 8 pm on Fox. Jack’s got to stop the terrorists from launching warheads from a stolen submarine. This is gonna be good.

“Are you with me?”

24 on Fox

Nicole and I have returned from the World Horror Convention in San Francisco, and now that we’ve had a couple of days to recover, I wanted to post at least briefly about the trip.

I’ve always found conventions to be a wonderful experience, full of great programming and great people, and this one was no different. It started off early when we ran into Chris Golden at the airport, and arranged to sit together for the whole flight out. What a great guy! The time went by much faster with such good conversation.

Once we arrived and checked in, it didn’t take long to get into the flow. Over the course of the next few days, I didn’t catch as many panels or readings as I would have liked (Steve Shrewsbury, Cullen Bunn and Chesya Burke being notable exceptions), but because of this I did get more time to talk with so many fantastic writers, booksellers and editors.

I don’t think Nicole and I ate more than one meal alone; there were tons of fabulous restaurants right around the hotel and we hit a bunch of them, including a great Thai place with John Skipp, Cullen Bunn, Lynn Hansen and Jimmy Johnston, a fantastic Italian place with Kelly Laymon, and a cheap–and VERY good–Chinese place with a whole crew including Chris Golden, Jim Moore, Paul Miller, Monica Kuebler and others. But the find of the trip for me was the little diner called the New Village Cafe, which offered Nicole’s favorite the #4 breakfast special that included 2 huge pancakes, 4 strips of bacon, 2 eggs and hash browns for $5. That’s right, $5.

Can you tell I’m fixated on food?

We also spent a good deal of time in the dealer’s room chatting up folks like Jude Feldman from Borderlands Books, James Beach from Dark Discoveries, William and Deborah Jones from Elder Signs Press/Dark Wisdom, and many others.

And of course, there were the parties. The Red Light District party, Bizarro, Leisure Books, Borderlands, and more. All of them were fantastic–and as an added bonus, Nicole and I won the best prize of the raffle on Saturday night, a complete set of Haunted Memories photos! These things are great–Eddie Allen is a heck of an artist and a great guy to boot. Eddie serenaded the Leisure party with his guitar and harmonica after the raffle from the balcony overlooking the city. He even took requests. What a talented guy!

These cons are all about friendships. I feel like I strengthened some old friendships and made many more. In addition to those already mentioned I got to talk with Jeff Strand, Lynn Hansen, Brian Keene, Alan Clark, Nate Southard, Norman Partridge, Jon Reitan, Nick Kaufmann, Norm Prentiss, Susan Taylor, Dan Fox, Paul Puglisi, Brian Knight, Gary Frank, Minh Nguyen, Gord Rollo, Ray Garton, Mort Castle, Bill Gagliani, Tim Waggoner, Bloody Mary and Horrorwench, Lee Thomas, Cat, Dave Solow, John Little, Simon Wood, Mike Arnzen, Weston Oche, Yvonne Navarro…the list goes on and on, but I’m going to stop here because I’m bound to forget someone.

As usual, it ended too quickly. We found ourselves back on an airplane before we knew it, but not before sharing a shuttle with Brian Knight, Tim Waggoner and others and getting a little impromptu tour of the city when the driver couldn’t find the last pickup location. After a long plane ride we arrive home around midnight on Sunday, exhausted but full of great memories, as always.

Speaking of memories, before I wrap this up I’d like to make special mention of Steve Shrewsbury’s reading. Shrews read a fantastic and gripping passage from his upcoming novel, “Black Ribbon of Josephine.” But what made this event really unusual was his decision to read an essay afterwards by our late friend James Sneddon.

James passed away a few months ago and before his time, and Shrews wanted to honor his memory by reading his essay on horror and religious faith. This was both difficult and very moving for me. James was a fellow Five Star author who I’d corresponded with many times via email, but I met him in person for the first time at last year’s World Horror Convention in New York. James was a remarkable human being, and the horror community suffered a great loss at his passing (I wrote more about him at the time on my blog; go here if you’re interested in reading it).

I thought about James quite a bit during this trip, since I’d seen him last almost exactly one year ago. I was a newbie then, and he didn’t hesitate to welcome me into his group, making sure I didn’t feel lost and alone during the convention. This was very much appreciated, since I’d gone by myself and it was my first con.

I’ll always be grateful for what he did, and for the friend that he became. And I’m grateful now to Shrews for keeping his memory alive. Good work, my friend.

So that’s it for now. To all of you I met out there in San Francisco, thanks for the good times, and I hope to see you again soon!

Nate will be attending the World Horror Convention in San Francisco from May 11-14, 2006. He will be reading and signing copies of Bloodstone at the mass signing event. For more information, see the WHC2006 website:

www.whc2006.org