Updates on Things

First thing's first. The sequel to Gods on the Mountain, entitled The Merchant Rebellion, will probably have to be delayed until next year. Don't worry, I'm not going George RR Martin on you. It will be released, and I have been working on it. However, some of the pre-production involved with it (including paying for a cover artist) is going to need to be delayed, since my family and I are in a tight financial situation and are possibly going to transition into a new location.

Second, I'm still working on Mannegishi, and this one will be released, hopefully in August. It's currently being edited, and then I'm going to send it off to a beta reader for feedback. If you follow me on Twitter, I shared the (revised) cover art for it. In case you're brand new to me, here's the cover.

Here's the synopsis I've come up for it:

There is a legend among the Cree of small people known as the Mannegishi. They play pranks on humans. Jonathan Banks ponders if he's experiencing real life Mannegishi, given the strange events that have been happening around his Montana home. However, the pranks begin to get darker and darker. People end up dead. As Jonathan will soon find out, these creatures may not come from Native American folklore.

 They may not even come from Earth.

Current Horror WIP: "Mannegishi"

I'm currently working on another horror novel. This one is currently entitled Mannegishi. It draws from science fiction and Cree folklore - an interesting combination to say the least.

Unlike my previous horror novels, which all took place around the fictional Virginian city of Wesfolk, this one will take place in a fictional Montana town. It revolves around a small family dealing with strange occurrences around their rural home. On top of this is a subplot involving a former soldier struggling with PTSD who has moved into the area.

The release date for this hasn't been set in stone yet. However, I've been making pretty good progress with it. I intend to edit it a good bit, then release it afterward. I'll be sharing the cover art on Twitter to get opinions and feedback. Keep your eyes open!

Horror Novel: "Deadly Whispers"

Yesterday was the release of my new horror novel, Deadly Whispers. It's currently available for $1.99 on Amazon Kindle.

Below is the cover and synopsis.

**You'll never look at ASMR the same way again...**

Rob thought he would die alone. However, thanks to a mail-order-bride site, he's found Anna, the girl of his dreams. She's sweet, she's beautiful...and, to top it off, she does ASMR videos on YouTube. However, Anna has a secret she's not sharing with Rob or anyone else. Her ASMR videos are not like the others online. They are much darker than anything done in the community before. She has a secret about her videos that Rob's friend, Mike, is about to uncover.

"Deadly Whispers" is a dark comedy from Ben Willoughby about finding the right wife with the wrong kind of mind.

Purchase it here!

Comedy-Horror Novelette: "The House That Homed"

A new novelette of mine was released. This one is a bit different than some of my previous works - namely, it's a comedy horror. I wrote it on a whim, and with inspiration to write something more lighthearted...so needless to say, I don't take it too seriously at all.

The novelette is entitled The House That Homed, and is about four young adults that venture into a haunted mansion with some dark secrets. Two addicts soon enter as well, looking for stuff to loot. In terms of writing, it was probably 40% planned, and 60% improvised. Still, it was immensely fun to write, and I decided to release it for Halloween.

Here is the cover:

You can get it here!

Horror Novella: "Daddy's Girl"

My new horror novella is out, and available on Kindle for $0.99 on Amazon. My last horror story was a novelette...maybe my next horror story will be a full blown novel? Who knows...

Any way, enough of that. Here's the cover.

The synopsis:

Alex lost her father as a baby, and has only known him through stories and photos. Since his death, something seems to have always been in the shadows, protecting her through her childhood. Now that she's in college, she wants to just be a grown woman and take care of herself. However, when four classmates assault her, that unseen force again lashes out.

With a vengeance.

Soon begins a night of terror.

Get it here!

Why I got into horror

I currently have a fantasy novel out in print and Kindle format. A lot of people have followed me because of my fantasy book, as well as my comments regarding fantasy. I started writing because of my love for fantasy. Most people probably still think of me as a "fantasy author."

Why, then, did I start to dabble in horror? Why have I published a horror novelette, and why do I have a horror novella on the way? A while ago I saw a graph showing the popularity of various book genres. Amazingly enough, horror was listed near the bottom, while fantasy was near the top. The horror niche, while popular, isn't considered popular enough in terms of marketing. Certainly a lot more people have bought Gods on the Mountain than they have Raw Head, even though the latter is cheaper than the former. Clearly, if I want to make money, I should probably push more into the fantasy genre than horror.

The truth is, the reason I got into horror was I wanted to explore ideas and concepts I couldn't with fantasy. I wanted to explore supernatural and perilous elements that would be harder (though not impossible) to do with fantasy. It likewise permits me to explore stories set in our own world. Plus (if I may be excused for using a ten-year old's argument), I just felt like writing in horror.

The wonderful about being an author (especially an indie author) is that you can adapt your writing focus. You're not bound to write this or that. Granted, this can be seen within reason: if your fans want you to write a sequel to a popular book, it might be good to write said sequel; if you're seen as a Christian author, writing violent erotica might shock your fanbase and loose you readers. However, for the most you are completely free to explore and develop your style however you see fit.

And, frankly, authors should be permitted to do so, so long as they do it without looking down on their fanbase or forsaking those who supported and loved them during the early days.

Horror Novelette: "Raw Head"

I know I haven't updated this blog in a while, and it's running dangerously close to the trope of yet another author's blog that's gone into Neglect Land. I apologize to my followers and those who visit this blog, and I'll try to update more often from now on.

One thing I did forget to post about was...well...I wrote something. I wrote a horror novelette entitled Raw Head, which is available on Amazon for $0.99.

The synopsis:

A serial killer is brutally murdering children. Susie Hansen is nearing the end of her pregnancy, and is beginning to worry that the serial killer may be after her child. Worst yet, she thinks the serial killer may not even be human...

It's available on Kindle here.