Live Girls by Ray Garton – Book Review
June 28th, 2010 by Randy Ray | | No Comments »Ray Garton’s Live Girls is an erotic, scary, suspenseful, often-gruesome vampire novel that’s like having a really interesting nightmare you can’t wake from. The characters in Live Girls are your friends and neighbors, the people about whom you start dinner conversations with the words, “Did you hear about…?” Imagine From Dusk Til Dawn with more sex, less action, and believable characters, and you’ll begin to have an idea of what kind of novel Live Girls is.
The high concept for the novel is simplicity itself: A spineless magazine employee, Davey Owen, loses his girlfriend, and in a combination of curiosity…
Great Horror Writing on the Internet
June 24th, 2010 by Randy Ray | | No Comments »I’m always in a state of awe at the amazing writing about horror that I’m able to find on the Internet. Here’s a list of some of the better horror related articles I’ve seen just today:
The Crazies Blu-ray Review – Matt Fini reviews the release of the recent remake of George Romero’s The Crazies on Blu-ray. I’m not as big a fan of the original movie as the reviewer, but he makes some good points about how the new version could have been improved. His review of the actual quality of the Blu-ray itself was a welcome addition also.…
The 7 Best Selling Zombie Books
June 23rd, 2010 by Randy Ray | | No Comments »I enjoyed Bookgasm’s post about 7 Current Zombie Books with Brains so much that I decided to write a post about the 7 best selling zombie books that we carry at our store. These aren’t necessarily the most current zombie books we have in stock, but our customers love them.
The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks – Even though it came out in 2003, The Zombie Survival Guide is still a best seller. Do my customers know about an impending zombie apocalypse or something? Probably not. The popularity of this book probably has more to do with the clever…
Fred’s Downtown Philly – Allen, TX Philly Cheesesteaks
June 23rd, 2010 by Randy Ray | | No Comments »I’m going to end my long blogging hiatus here by writing about a totally off-topic subject. (It’s not totally off-topic though, because if you’re in Wylie, TX, and you’re looking for good Philly cheesesteaks, then Fred’s Downtown Philly in Allen, TX is worth the drive.) Fred’s Downtown Philly is located on the northwest corner of Bethany and Greenville in Allen, Texas. The actual address, if you need it, is 740 S. Greenville Ave., #400, Allen, TX 75002. And their phone number is (972)359-0958. Fred’s Downtown Philly is closed Sundays, but they’re open every other day of the week from 11am…
Horror Stories
November 18th, 2009 by Randy Ray | | 1 Comment »We’ve launched a new project at Horror Stories this week. It’s a guide to where to find short stories in the horror genre online. The site lists 13 other websites which link to or allow you to read online versions of horror short stories. Some of the sites feature public domain classics from authors like Ambrose Bierce and H.P. Lovecraft, while others on the list are online fiction magazines with free horror stories you can read. I thought it would be a fun little project to launch, and I’m really proud of my friend John Clifton for researching those resources…
Bestsellers for Week Ending 10/31/2009
November 1st, 2009 by Randy Ray | | 2 Comments »Here are our bestsellers for the week ending 10/31/2009. I’ll start posting our best sellers here every Sunday.
Hardback Horror Fiction Bestsellers
My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie) by David Lubar The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Heart-Shaped Box by Joe HillPaperback Horror Fiction Bestsellers
My Work is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti Twilight of the Dead by Travis Adkins The Dark by Ellen Datlow Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz…
8 Reasons to Buy Books at a Local Independent Bookstore Instead of at Wal-mart
October 26th, 2009 by Randy Ray | | 2 Comments »I thought it might be fun to come up with some reasons why someone would actually buy books at the local bookstore instead of at Wal-mart. Especially since Wal-mart will almost always offer a better price on their books. Here’s what I came up with:
Local independent bookstores offer a better selection of books than Wal-mart. I operate a small, niche bookstore with only about 1000 square feet of space, but I’d estimate that we carry 5000 different titles. (And we’re an all-horror bookstore.) A typical Wal-mart carries only about 200 titles. The employees at your local independent bookstore have…
Infected by Scott Sigler
October 15th, 2009 by Randy Ray | | 1 Comment »I started reading Infected by Scott Sigler at the recommendation of one of our new book club members, and so far I’m really enjoying it. Sigler isn’t a masterful writer, but he’s a good storyteller, and so far the store is equal parts gripping and creepy. The plot concerns some kind of virus that turn Americans into raving murderers, and much of the book is told from the perspective of one of the infected. (Hence the name, eh.) We have a couple of copies of the book in stock at the store if you’re interested, and it’s a bargain for…
Star Wars – Death Troopers
October 14th, 2009 by Randy Ray | | No Comments »We’re having a sale on the new Star Wars novel, Death Troopers. The cover price on this horror book set in the Star Wars universe is $24, and we’re offering the book for just $15. These copies of Death Troopers are first edition hardcovers, brand new, in excellent condition. The reason for the sale price is that I over-ordered the book. I don’t think copies will stay in stock very long at that price.
If this is the first you’ve heard about Death Troopers, here’s the skinny: Death Troopers is the first adult Star Wars horror novel. Joe Shreiber wrote…
Horror Books on Sale – 20% Off!
September 29th, 2009 by Randy Ray | | No Comments »To celebrate the month of October, which is Halloween, as well as the first anniversary of our store, we’re having a horror books sale. Selected titles are available at 20% off. Some of the books that we’re selling for 20% off in October include:
Any of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books – get ‘em while they last! Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris – this one retails for $25.95 in hardcover, but we’re selling it for $19.99. The Tenant by Roland Topor is normally $13, but it’s on sale now for just $9.99. The Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell…