Werewolves Out in the World, Part XXIII

I know, I know: been a while since one of these, yes? Thus this one being a long scroll. But, I mean, I’ve been writing a novel, and being in California for ten days, and being some other places too. I seem to vaguely recall an injury as well. Anyway, none of that matters, because here we are again, with people posting cool pics of the yellow book, proving once again and for always that werewolves are real and in the world—and? They have been for something like twenty-two previous issues of this particular digest:

And let’s hit the ground snuggled between F. Paul Wilson (I was on a panel with him once somewhere) and Brian Keene (we judged the Bizarro Gross-Out Contest together one year), with a lot more good friends/solid writers in this stack:

img_2711

Ah, thank you, Betty. Werewolves are meant to circulate:

fullsizerender-12

For the longest time (well, not like an ENDURING mystery, but a kind of fuddled bemusement for twenty seconds) I couldn’t figure how vivastory had snapped this pic. Then I realized: it’s a screencap of an image search. Cool. So I did again, here. Thanks for the tip:

img_2722

Yeah, this is one of the places I was: Tennessee, the plane landing through the smoke of arson-fires. But? Trees burning smells like trees burning, pretty much. I can’t get ‘arson’ from a whiff, anyway. Thanks to Cherie Priest for hanging out a bit at Starline, and thanks to Starline for hosting:

screen-shot-2016-11-17-at-10-31-53-am

chattanooga-starline-3

And? In smoky-smoky Tennessee, it turns out Jason Huddleston and me are into like every same thing. I believe he’s even wearing a Jason-shirt, here:

chattanooga-starline-2

At first I thought Mongrels was being staged next to a stick of dynamite, which got me thinking about Bo Duke (it never takes me much to be suddenly back in Hazzard County). But, you see the spectrum or gradient read_diverse_books has done here? Left to right, we go “home” > “shelter” (which is like temporary home) > “no home.” Pretty cool. Thanks:

img_2734

Dog / Mongrels pics are maybe my favorite. At least until somebody’s up in Barrow or somewhere, and, while running fast away from a polar bear, throws a yellow book back at it, and somehow documents that on film:

img_2738

I should have gone to this. Except I think it was in Canada. But it was maybe on Twitter too?

screen-shot-2016-11-21-at-2-17-19-pm

Yes: campfire stories are always the best. Except then I never actually sleep, either. Hopefully the throat healed up fine, Dorianna, and hope the sunburn didn’t hurt too much, ohyeahthatgirl:

fullsizerender-7 fullsizerender-8

Was a fun interview. And, man, it went everywhere. Or, everywhere high. Which I guess is more and more of America . . .

screen-shot-2016-11-23-at-10-04-22-am

And, see Mike’s Twitter handle? This dude knows more horror than I’ll ever . . . I don’t know, I lost the thread of that. I always lose the thread of those. But: Mike Bracken, I respect what he says. And, yes, Near Dark. Always-always Near Dark. It’s in the post-script for the coming paperback of Mongrels.

screen-shot-2016-11-23-at-9-28-57-pm

 

I like being a Friday Read. Also, Monday’s okay. Tuesday’s got some merit. Robert Smith can fill you in on the rest of the week.

img_2749Way-cool list to have made:

http://readdiversebooks.com/2016-book-releases-by-native-americans/

Whoah, thank you, Sean Hastings. Honored:

screen-shot-2016-11-27-at-4-37-01-pm

And thank you, BookBar in Denver, for letting me pretend my Wonder Woman shirt actually stands for “werewolf” for the afternoon (not pictured: Ben Whitmer) (but, really? there’s just a whole slew of people who aren’t pictured, I guess. but Ben was there, that’s what I’m saying):

img_2769

Man, a twofer. Thank you thank you, Alex:

screen-shot-2016-11-27-at-9-19-25-pm

 

Saw this on Amazon a while back. Cool. The awkward-drawn (“awkwardrawn” wants to bad to be a palindrome) kids in this always feel pretty right, to me:

screen-shot-2016-11-29-at-5-03-27-pm

Ah, one of the free-book winners, yes? Hope you dug it:

img_2789

 

Was doing an event at Boulder Bookstore for Cyberworld, and saw the yellow book all hanging out with Walt Longmire, and had to had to had to snap this pic:

 

bb

 

Man, thanks, Cold December:

img_2804

Nice. This is from someone standing in line for the Bruce Springsteen event/book/pic—Tattered Cover still has the Mongrels poster up. Thanks, TC. And? The person standing there was standing there with my hard-won ticket. Because I last-minute went and talked to two classrooms of people who had read Mongrels. Was a great time. I’d always rather talk books than stand in line for six hours. But I am heartbroken not to have gotten that pic with the Boss. 

 

tc

 

Thanks, Wyatt:

img_2818

Another fun interview, this one, somehow, with one of the axe-pics:

screen-shot-2016-12-02-at-8-40-57-pm

I do, I do, I want to believe. Thank for wanting to also, Nicky:

screen-shot-2016-12-03-at-4-21-17-pm

A book table I walked past about 800 times in Californi-a:

 

img_2824

And, wow, this, man, I, can, like, only speak in gasped-out words, it looks like:

Tor.com Reviewers’ Choice: The Best Books of 2016

Thank you thank you. Honored to have been part of your 2016, Gareth Price:

 

img_2833

Also honored to be on Theo Van Alst’s shelf. Also on that shelf? A selected stories that Theo edited. Also there? The new one.

 

 

This sounds like a song wanting to happen. And, Andrea: I suggested Flushboy to you as well, yes? Hope it was halfway fun.

 

Good, wonderful, thank you: uncomfortable. Art should always be that, I think:

 

Wow, cool shopping basket to be in:

Icky, yes! Icky’s good. Unless you’re trying to eat a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

 

I really need to dial the audio version up. People keep telling me it’s good. Just? It’s always weird, listening to my own stuff read. Because, I mean, for me, for many months, it was in only my voice. Only one of mine I’ve ever been able to get through—because they used a wrestler kind of voice!—was Zombie Bake-Off. But, should I ever sequel Mongrels, I’ll need to remember what-all went on between those yellow covers (sounds like a Flushboy joke, yes) (that’s a high-class book, there).

And, wow. Not only Tor, but B&N. So, so cool. Click here to go there.

And then LitReactor too? Wonderful, thank you:

And then even the second part of that? Amazing-cool:

I’m judging an innovative fiction contest for them in . . . June? July? Summer, anyway:

 

And, c’mon now. Who would go the public library in the mountain kind of town they live in and search up Mongrels and then leave it there for the next user and then also take a pic of it? 

 

Wow, rock: any list I’m on with John and Paul, that’s a good list to be on. Also, now that I actually write their names there, I feel like . . . Ringo? Or a lost gospel?

And, Bookzombie: first, great, great handle. And, second: that moon you drew! It’s the one straight from the “Werewolves on the Moon”-chapter! Thank you. Too cool:

 

And, that’ll do it for the 2016 installments of this, anyway. But the paperback is just around the corner, with all new goods tucked into the end, and a renamed chapter as well. 

See you in 2017, where I’ll be doing more stuff like this (January, Texas):

 

Until then, and also after then, and everywhere in between, keep howling, stay hungry, and watch out for headlights and pantyhose.

 

 

Author: SGJ