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N E W S
The NEWS section will be updated periodically. Please check frequently.
JANUARY 2010
How is this for an excellent way to kick off the new year? TALISMEN is finally out!
It has taken seven years and a whole lot of perseverance, but now you can finally read the first adventure of Colin, Reggie, Ollie, Timmy and Jennifer as they discover their true heritage to the Plain of Imaginings! To find out more. You can also purchase a copy from the Mundania Press website, or through Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
That is it for this month. Until the next news update, do not forget to support our troops!
APRIL 2009
No, your eyes were not deceiving you on the homepage. TALISMEN: THE KNIGHTMARE KNIFE will be released in late July from Mundania Press!
There have been deadlines delays, economic downturns, even floods and hurricanes, but NOTHING could stop the first illustrated novel in the TALISMEN Young Adult fantasy-adventure series from finally being published! Soon you will be able to own your very own copy of Colin, Reggie, Oliver, Timmy and Jennifer's fantastic first adventure, and trust me it will be worth the wait, especially when you see the incredible illustrations by TALISMEN'S awesomely talented co-creator Barb Jacobs! (And in case you have not checked it out yet, be sure to see Barb's incredible fantasy webcomic XYLIA at www.Xyliatales.com!) To find out more, check out the TALISMEN page here on my website and keep an eye peeled at the Mundania Press website at www.Mundania.com!
If you enjoyed the first WORLDS OF H.P. LOVECRAFT graphic novel published by TransFuzion Press in 2008, I have great news for you. The second WORLDS OF H.P. LOVECRAFT installment is out this month! This graphic novel features a full 48-page adaptation of "Dagon" with art by Sergio (LONE RANGER) Cariello and full-length adaptations of "Music of Erich Zann' with art by Aldin (FAMILY GUY) Baroza, "The Picture In the House" with art by Rob (STAR TREK) Davis, "Arthur Jermyn" with art by Wayne (A MURDER OF SCARECROWS) Reid, and "Statement of Randolph Carter" with art by my frequent partner in crime Chris (BATMAN STRIKES) Jones. Find out more at the TransFuzion website at www.transfuzion.biz!
Also out this month from TransFuzion is SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE TWISTED MINDS. This graphic novel collects my two Sherlock Holmes pastiches, the first pitting the Great Detective against The Phantom of the Opera in a 48-page adventure with art by Aldin Baroza, followed up by a full-length comic adventure with Holmes on the trail of a certain Mr. Hyde with art by Seppo (SCARLET BY GASLIGHT) Makinen. Again, you can find out more by checking out the TransFuzion website at www.transfuzion.biz!
I am also excited to announce that Mundania Press will be releasing the following short stories and novellas of mine through their new e-publishing venture over the next year:
"Expiration Date," a short story of vengeance from beyond the space and time and the grave, will be released February 2009.
TALISMEN fans may want to make note that "The Sceptre: The Frigid Castle," the first installment in a four-part fantasy series created with Barb Jacobs, is scheduled for November 2009.
"Curse of Wrigley Field," the prequel to the Sassafras Winters and Chinaman mystery-adventure KING OF HARLEM. is scheduled for January 2010.
Also to be released but not yet on Mundania's schedule are the original horror dream tale "A Snow Hill in the Air" and the Feril Nightlinger horror-adventure "Sins of the Werewolf." I will post the release dates for these two stories here on the website as soon as I have them.
And that is it for this month. Until the next news update, take care, stay well, and please do not forget to support our troops!JUNE 2008
Would you be interested in a free download of the TALISMEN: RETURN OF THE EXILE webcomic? Well, good news! The first issue of the four-issue mini-series is already available for free as a download at Wowio.com! Even better, all four issues will be available for download by the end of summer. And here is the absolute best part, at least for my TALISMEN partner Barb Jacobs and I. While each download is FREE, Barb and I get paid a little bit of cash for every download. Very little. But, heck, something is better than nothing. Right? So if you have ever wanted your own downloads of this popular and acclaimed webcomic mini-series, but did not want to pay one red cent for them, this is your chance! To check out the TALISMEN: RETURN OF THE EXILE page at Wowio.com and get more information, just click here.HOUSE WITH THE WITCH'S HAT is finally available in its own paperback from Lulu! I originally contributed this story to Alan Andersen's WIZARD ACADEMIES series -- which has since been picked up for representation by ICM, one of Hollywood's "Big Five" agencies -- but this paperback includes never-before-seen material that expands the story to novel length. This novel introduces the world to reverberaunts, young wizards who have died under mysterious circumstances and returned to life. They do not remember their past and have only a year to find out who they were and how they died or go back to being dead...forever.
Cardy Wagner is a 12-year-old girl found unconscious inside the smoldering ruins of the Town Hall of Devil's Bridge after a lightning strike destroys the building. While recuperating in the hospital Cardy meets a streetwise young satyr named Alacrity Templemier who invites her to become a student at the only wizard school in the world that caters to reverberaunts: Grackleflint's. Cardy accepts, but the clock is ticking for Cardy to discover the secrets about her past, and it becomes increasingly clear that someone does not want her to find out how and why she died. Someone dark and powerful in the ways of magick.
Cardy must take risks that no student at Grackleflint's has ever dared before. Risks that may save her life, but may also get her sent away from Grackleflint's forever.
To check the book out or order your own copy, click here!
Speaking of resurrections, the first volume of WORLDS OF H.P. LOVECRAFT from Transfuzion Press (ISBN 978-0-941613-31-6) presents four acclaimed adaptations of "The Lurking Fear," "Beyond the World of Sleep," "The Tomb" and 'The Alchemist" by myself and my old Brazilian buddy, artist Octavio Cariello. I am proud to announce that this volume features an all-new introduction by British author and scriptwriter M.J. Elliott, the editor of two new Lovecraft anthologies for Wordsworth Editions. To find out more about this graphic as well as well as see sample pages click here !
Transfuzion Press also is making my two Sherlock Holmes adventures available again in its new graphic novel collection, SHERLOCK HOLMES: SECRETS AND STORIES (ISBN 978-0-941613-38-5). Along with a rich treasury of other Holmes material you will find my two-part pastiche ADVENTURE OF THE OPERA GHOST (art and letters by Aldin Baroza), the single-issue pastiche THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HOLMES (art by Seppo Makinen) and the transcript to my original Holmes radio drama, "The Case of the Petty Curses," produced and broadcast earlier last February by Imagination Theater. If you love Holmes then you are going to love this new collection! To find out more click here!
Finally this month some exciting in-production news! I am an old-time radio drama fan, so I am excited to be playing a part in helping launch BRAINSTORM THEATER, a new audio drama producing adaptations of classic horror, science fiction and fantasy stories. Audio productions are more popular than ever thanks to MP3s, CD players and the resurgence of AM radio. The BRAINSTORM crew is already hard at work on our first productions, and in the months ahead I will bring the latest news about where you can hear (and perhaps even see!) these all-new audio dramas!
That is it for this month. Until the next news update, take care, stay well, and please do not forget to support our troops!
February 2008
If you did not read my homepage then let me start off with the big news this month. My Sherlock Holmes radio adventure, "The Curse of the Petty Curses," will be broadcast on Imagination Theater over XM Radio and several AM stations in the United States and abroad.
In this original story a prominent British official is convinced that his wife has placed a curse on him. Desperate to prove otherwise, the wife asks Holmes to investigate, but as Holmes and his faithful friend, Dr. John H. Watson, uncover the truth, they discover that they may not be able to save their client and her husband from a curse that is far worse than anything supernatural.
Imagination Theater is produced by Jim French Production, America's premiere radio drama company. To find out more about "The Case of the Petty Curses" or to find out which radio stations in your area broadcast Imagination Theater, click here www.harrynile.com to check out their wonderful website.
A little comic book news to pass along. TransFuzion will release the first of two "Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft" anthologies this May. This anthology features the Malibu Graphics adaptations I wrote in the early 1990s with fantastic artwork by Brazilian artist Octavio Cariello. The four stories included in this anthology are "The Lurking Fear," "Beyond the Wall of Sleep," "The Tomb," and "The Alchemist." To find out more and to keep up to date with this and other incredible TransFuzion releases, click here Transfuzion Forum to check out their new forum. You will be glad you did.
I also recently finished a script for a 64-page graphic novel adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "The People That Time Forgot." The publisher has asked that I not reveal anything more than that just yet, but as soon as I get the word I will post information about the publisher, the release date, and more here on my website.
If you have not had a chance yet to check out my friend Barb Jacob's incredible new webcomic XYLIA, all I can ask is, "What are you waiting for?" Barb is at the top of her game on this delightful and suspenseful tale that you have to see to believe. Click on this link www.xyliatales.com to see what I am talking about.
That is all the news for this month. Winter is drawing to a close, so hang in there until warmer weather arrives everyone. And, as always, remember to support the troops!July 2007
Bad news and good news (sort of) on the TALISMEN front.
First the bad news. The TALISMEN: RETURN OF THE EXILE webcomic has run its course. The fact of the matter is that, without a sponsor or some other steady income support, it just became impossible to continue the webcomics. With Barb Jacobs doing far and away the lion's share of the work on the webcomic---plotting, drawing, lettering, coloring, and co-scripting---five fantastic 22-page chapters of the webcomic were completed and those pages will remain up at the Keenspot site for folks to read and enjoy. (FYI: We are also keeping the Cafe Press store open if you want to purchase a copy of TALISMEN: THE BOY IN THE WELL, the 2007 TALISMEN calendar, or a TALISMEN tee.) Considering all the obstacles Barb had to overcome during the webcomic's run, not only the amount and but the stunning quality of the work she produced is amazing if not staggering, and I cannot tell you how proud I am to have been a small part of this popular, award-nominated webcomic.
While on the topic of the webcomic, I would be remiss if I did not thank our wonderful webmistress for TALISMEN: RETURN OF THE EXILE, the lovely and gracious and uber-talented Kez! You are one in a million, Kez! I would also like to thank the thousands and thousands of loyal fans who made TALISMEN: RETURN OF THE EXILE one of the most visited and talked-about webcomics on the Internet. Ditto the TALISMEN fans who stopped by our table at Anime Detour in March to say hello. I think I speak for Barb, too, when I say that knowing you all enjoyed the webcomic made it all worthwhile.
Now for the good news about TALISMEN (sort of). The series is not dead! The illustrated novel TALISMEN: THE KNIGHTMARE KNIFE is still coming out from Mundania Press. The reason I say that this is (sort of) good news is because I do not know exactly when the novel will come out. TKK was first scheduled to be released last January, and then rescheduled for March, and now...I don't know. Do not blame Mundania Press. They are a young small publisher experiencing a lot of success and these things happen. TKK will come out, most probably before the end of the year, but as soon as I have a firm release date I will post it here as well as at the TALISMEN webcomic site at www.talismenseries.com.
Cross your fingers and say your prayers, because my novella "House With the Witch's Hat" could be coming your way as a movie or TV program in the near future. Maybe. ICM, one of the "Big Five" talent agencies in Hollywood, recently signed to represent all the stories in the WIZARD ACADEMIES anthologies that "Witch's Hat" appeared. In Hollywood terms this has all happened not only suddenly but unexpectedly, which is encouraging, but having a talent agent is not the same as signing an option with a studio. Still, it is nice to make this far. If anything happens on this front I will let you know here.
While we are on the subject of WIZARD'S ACADEMIES, a lot of other nifty stuff is happening besides the Hollywood interest. Later this year "House With the Witch's Hat" will become HOUSE WITH THE WITCH'S HAT...a novel! Alan Lance Andersen, head honcho of the WIZARD ACADEMIES universe, has just released the first two titles in a new series of WA YA novels: WIZARD ACADEMIES: RUMPOTS, CRACKPOTS, AND POOKA-MAZED HALFWITS by Andersen and WIZARD ACADEMIES: A SPECIAL KIND OF TALENT by Chris Malloy. If that isn't enough there is a new WA anthology, WIZARD ACADEMIES III: CROSSROADS OF MAGICK! To find out more about these wonderful books check out the WA storefront at Lulu.com. Get in on the ground floor and order some copies today! It could be that 2008 will turn out to be the year of the WIZARD ACADEMIES!
Finally this month, if you managed to miss this news on my homepage, I have taken my Komikwerks articles on comics writing and adapted them into a book called (get ready for it) COMICS WRITING. This new e-book from Booklocker.com will guide you through the basics of communicating through comics and features some awesome artwork by Christopher Jones (BATMAN STRIKES!, DR. BLINK), Aldin Baroza (HEY, ARNOLD! THE MOVIES, RUGRATS), Barb Jacobs (XYLIA, TALISMEN), Jason Yungbluth (MAD), and S. Clarke Hawbaker (NOMAD, STARSLAYER). If this sounds good to you, then check it out today by clicking here.
Phew! I think that is enough for this month! Until next time, have a great summer, and remember to support the troops!February 2007
Lots of TALISMEN news, and the biggest news is the February 2007 release of the first TALISMEN illustrated Young Adult novel, THE KNIGHTMARE KNIFE! Published by Mundania Press (www.mundania.com), this novel includes several gorgeous illustrations by the incredibly talented Barb Jacobs! This is the first story in the TALISMEN series, so if you've been dying to find out how the adventures of Colin, Reggie, Ollie, Timmy, and Jennifer begin, then you have got to read THE KNIGHTMARE KNIFE! You can read a sample chapter from the novel elsewhere on my website, and an original comic book adaptation of the beginning of the novel by visiting the official TALISMEN webcomic site!
Speaking of the TALISMEN website, the second chapter of RETURN OF THE EXILE is roaring into 2007 with all new art from Barb Jacobs! Barb and I are also proud to announce that the webcomic has been earned its second Web Comics Creators Association nomination, this time for Best Dramatic Comic! As any of our growing number of fans can tell you, when it comes TALISMEN, the best is yet to come!
If that isn't enough, Barb has added an item to our TALISMEN store at Cafe Press: The 2007 TALISMEN Calendar! Just visit the store and you can preview all the eye-popping artwork Barb has created for each month! No TALISMEN fan is going to want to go through 2007 without this calendar on their wall! And while you're in the TALISMEN store, you can still order copies of the first TALISMEN novella, "Boy In the Well," and a TALISMEN t-shirt!
Finally, Barb and I have been out promoting TALISMEN, beginning with appearances at Wizard Comic Con in Chicago and the Iowa I-Con in 2006. Barb and I were also recently interviewed by Richard Pulfer for the Webcraft forum at his HECTOR webcomic. In 2007, Barb and I have already confirmed that we will be appearing at Anime Detour in Minneapolis on March 23-25 . I am also exploring other appearance opportunities to promote TALISMEN as well as my other projects, and I will post news about any appearances here as soon as they are confirmed.
Rewrites are finished on my Actionopolis book, HENRIETTA HEX AND THE GHOSTS OF SPOOKS HOLLOW. My good buddy Christopher Jones is busy at work on the book's illustrations, and samples of those illustrations will appear here at the website as soon as they are ready. Meanwhile, the first seven Actionopolis books are out and they are getting excellent reviews from readers and critics alike. To find out more about HENRIETTA HEX, check out the HH link on the homepage. To find out more about Actionopolis and its wonderful line of books, check out the Actionopolis website.
Mundania Press has announced release dates for the e-book versions of "The Sceptre: The Frigid Castle" (created with my TALISMEN collaborator Barb Jacobs) and the prequel to KING OF HARLEM, "Curse of Wrigley Field." "The Sceptre" will be out in May 2007 and "Curse of Wrigley Field" will be released in February 2008. Mundania will also be publishing e-versions of some of my short stories, and as soon as I have an exact release dates for these I will announce them here.
Finally, I have just finished expanding my WIZARD ACADEMIES novella "House With the Witch's Hat" into a Young Adult novel. It is being bundled with a couple of more WIZARD ACADMIES novels that are being submitted to publishers. You can keep up with the latest news about this here on my website by clicking on the WIZARD ACADEMIES link or by visiting the official WIZARD ACADEMIS website.
That's all for now. Until next time, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and have a great winter. And remember: SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!
ADDENDUM:
On December 5, 2006, my dad, Donald Elroy Jones ("Sam" to his friends), passed away. My dad came from a generation that wanted children to have a better life than their parents. Starting life dirt poor with nothing but his drive and determination to help him, my dad worked hard to give my brothers and me that better life. In 1985 my dad started his own business. Soon after was diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live. My dad not only lived a lot longer than six months, he grew his new business into a success, and now that business will live on after him. When I was a boy I believed my family was rich (we weren't) and I always felt like a big shot when a teacher or a friend at school would say to me, "Hey,I saw your dad at the parking ramp when we were downtown yesterday." My dad also earned the respect and friendship of many many people in our town, from its business executives and politicians to the workers and shoppers who parked in the ramps and lots he managed. He treated them all the same, and if anyone needed help, he was there. If all these things add up to a measure of success, then my dad was exactly what I believe him to be: one of life's winners. In memory of him, I'd like to ask a favor of you. My dad's favorite charity was the Salvation Army, and because of him I can never pass a Salvation Army bucket without making some small contribution. The next time you pass one of these red buckets, would you drop a dime, a quarter, a dollar or whatever you want into it for my dad. If you do, thank you.
