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Leisure Books

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:04:00 -0400

The Dorchester Publishing paperback release of Frozen Blood is quickly approaching (time flies with a newborn in the house!) and it's now available for pre-order in the usual places, such as Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca and Chapters for the low, low price of ... well, it's a different price depending on where you live, but it's a deal in every country.

I've also got a high-res image of the cover art, which I absolutely adore, and the new cover copy is below that. Take a looksee!

Tara Stewart had no choice but to attend her father’s funeral, even if it meant having to deal with her vindictive sister, Evelyn. As she arrived at the old mansion, the hail storm had already been raging. And it was not about to end. But the storm is hardly Tara’s only fear. She will very soon discover that the house itself seems intent on her death. It is filled with ghosts, spirits from her past who whisper threats and warn the end is drawing closer, ever closer…

But there is no escape. The storm has transformed the mansion into a prison. Reports on the news say it has become the worst blizzard of modern times, bringing destruction on a catastrophic scale. Trapped in a house of horrors while the world outside slowly freezes, Tara is surrounded by dangers both natural and supernatural—dangers that will push her to the very brink of madness.

Happy belated Canada Day to my countrymen and Fourth of July to my neighbours to the south!

Wipeout Canada

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:51:00 -0400

And it's official: I've applied to be on WIPEOUT CANADA. Bring on the big red balls! You can check out my application video on Youtube HERE.

In related news, this is also official: I might be certifiably insane. But man, how much fun does that obstacle course look like?!

Geekiest. Day. Ever.

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:33:00 -0400

Other than taking care of the usual baby stuff, this is how I spent my day yesterday:

*went to see Iron Man 2

*watched the 4 1/2 hour Lost series recap and finale

*completed both of the above activities while wearing the t-shirt below:

Today is Victoria Day, a statutory holiday here in Canada, and the weather is gorgeous. Although I haven't been online much since Charlie's birth, things have been clicking along at a fairly steady pace (writing wise) and I'll have some cool updates on my upcoming book releases to share soon. But for now, I'm going to enjoy some quality time with the family while trying to figure out what exactly happened in what I felt was a fitting, touching, poignant end to Lost (even though I have very little idea what actually happened).

Baby update!

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:45:00 -0500

Colleen and I have been asked a lot (and by "a lot", I mean "A LOT") if we've had the baby yet. Well, now you can check the following website for the answer!!! http://haveyouhadthatbabyyet.com

FROZEN BLOOD sells to Leisure Books

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:49:00 -0500

I was holding off officially announcing this until the ink on the contracts had dried completely, but since I just received a congratulatory email from someone who read the news on Shocklines, I guess it's safe to spread the word. Leisure Books (Dorchester Publishing) have purchased the mass market paperback rights for FROZEN BLOOD, my first novel which was published in 2008. It's one of their two November 2010 releases, and I'm pretty freaking stoked, to say the least.

Don D'Auria at Leisure has been incredible to work with. He's asked for my input on the cover art and the cover copy (back cover blurb, quotes), he's accepted my request to significantly alter the formatting in a large section of the novel, and he's answered all of my questions in a timely and professional manner. He's also entertained my idea for a second, original novel, and encouraged me to send a synopsis and the first few chapters asap -- with any luck (and if he likes it enough to buy it!) it could be released as early as June 2011. It's not a sure thing, but it's exciting all the same.

With BE A WRITING SUPERSTAR! coming out from Scholastic in August, BLOOD LITE 2: OVERBITE in October and FROZEN BLOOD in November, the second half of the year promises to be busy. But not as busy as the first half, as my wife is now only eight days away from her due date -- our first child. The countdown continues...

Guess I can kiss sleep goodbye.

p.s. To see the full 2010 Leisure lineup, click here.

Blood Lite 2 TOC

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:10:00 -0500

I just noticed that editor Kevin J. Anderson has posted the final TOC for BLOOD LITE 2, which is due this Halloween, 2010. I find myself sandwiched in the middle of a great lineup of authors with some intriguing titles. As Anderson says, there are "31 stories…a real feast with a wide range of subjects, a half dozen New York Times bestselling authors and a host of award winners—we’ve got winners of the Bram Stoker Award, the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, the World Fantasy Award, even the Grammy Award."

Here's the full list:

Death and Taxes—Heather Graham

Table for Two—Jeff Ryan

Treatment—J.A. Konrath

Dead Clown Séance—Christopher Welch

The Day the Devil Swallowed a Heapin’ Helpin’ of Pride at the Beaulahville Gospel Jubilee—Scott Nicholson

Piecemaker—Don d’Ammassa

Good Breeding—Lucien Soulban

Tails—John R. Little

Dog Tired (of the Drama!)—L.A. Banks

A Sweet Girl for Todd—Mark Onspaugh

Dark Carbuncle—Kevin J. Anderson & Janis Ian

Tastes Like Chicken—Jordan Summers

Presumptuous Beast Throws Sumptuous Feast—Mike Baron

Bad German—Edward Bryant

The Halloween War—Brian J. Hatcher

Oh, the Ho-Ho Horror—Joel A. Sutherland

The Unfortunate Persistence of Harold Francis Beamish—Aaron Polson

Dick and Larry—D.L. Snell

Son of…a Bitch!—Sam W. Anderson

Her Lucky Day—Allison Brennan

A Wing and a Prayer—Sharyn McCrumb

Barewolf—Daniel Pyle

American Banshee—Eric James Stone

The Epicurean—Amy Sterling Casil

The Ghoul Next Door—Nancy Kilpatrick

Daycare of the Damned—Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Season’s Tickets—Derek Clendening

The Close Shave—Mike Resnick & Lezli Robyn

Shaggy Dog Story—Steve Rasnic Tem

Eight-Legged Vengeance—Jeff Strand

Lucifer’s Daughter—Kelley Armstrong

Close, but no cigar

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:17:00 -0500

The winners of the Black Quill Award have been announced, and while Frozen Blood didn't win, I can definitely say it was an honour to be nominated. Dark Scribe Magazine is a great source for horror fiction news, so the nomination for my book in the Best Small Press Chill category was cool enough on its own. No need to shed any tears for my loss, though! Frozen Blood has turned into the little horror novel that could, and I've got some big news to share about it soon.Just waiting on receiving the signed contract before going public, which should hopefully be any day now... In other news, Colleen is only ten days away from her due date now, so I keep waiting for a call at work. In fact, I already received one such call at work from her, but it turned out she was just having a laugh. Ha ha. The little girl who cried baby. Well, she found it funny. Things are moving along with my Scholastic book, which has now been renamed Be a Writing Superstar! It used to be titled Become a Writing Wizard, but the marketers felt that it's a book that they'll be able to sell for years to come, and although fantasy is popular today, it might not be so popular tomorrow. Hey, the marketers can call it whatever they want if they think it will help it sell for a long time -- that was music to my ears! And even with everything else going on in life, I've managed to write the first 10,000 words of two new books, one for adults and one for kids. Now, if I could just find a little more time to update my blog more regularly...

Twittering in the new year

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:57:00 -0500

Now I've gone and done it.

I've started a Twitter account. Something I didn't think I'd ever do.

Crazy thing is, I kinda like it. The brevity of characters allowed in each post suits my busy schedule, and keeps me from feeling guilty about not writing more.

So hey, if you've got an account too (as far as I know, I'm the last person of everyone I know to have signed up), check me out at http://twitter.com/joelasutherland

How did you celebrate New Years Eve? As I said before, Colleen and I went out to dinner and the movies with a couple of good friends. Sherlock Holmes was good if not great but quite a bit of senseless fun. After the movie we got our dogs together and rang in the new year with champagne and mocktails. Today I'm celebrating by sitting on the couch procrastinating, ignoring all the cleaning and schoolwork and general life stuff that has to be done. In other words, starting 2010 off on the right foot!

BLOOD LITE 2 acceptance

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:38:00 -0500

What a way to close out the year: I found out yesterday that my story, "Oh, the Ho Ho Horror", has been accepted into BLOOD LITE 2.

The first volume, edited by bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson, had some heavy hitters within its pages including Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher and Sherrilyn Kenyon, so I'm pretty excited to see the final TOC for the second volume.

My story is, as you might have guessed, a festive tale, centred on a Scrooge/Grinch-like father who is confronted and taken prisoner (to be tortured and killed, natch) by the Big Guy in Red and his reindeer, Harvey. Oh, in case you didn't know, this is an anthology of humourous horror stories, so the fact that such an odd story was accepted isn't as strange as it might seem...

Since I haven't had much time to write and submit new fiction lately, this acceptance is particularly gratifying. I wrote the story specifically for this book on my breaks at work throughout November and squeaked it in right at the deadline. Huzzah!

We're going to celebrate by having a relaxing New Years Eve out, dinner and a movie (Sherlock Holmes), then back home in time for the countdown. However you're celebrating New Years, I hope 2010 is a stellar year for you and your family!

Happy (Belated) Birthday To Me!

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:53:00 -0500

December 1st was my 29th birthday, and I decided to celebrate in style this year.

First, one of the best book blogs on the net today, The Book Smugglers, kicked off their new annual tradition, Smugglivus, with a guest post by yours truly on my birthday. You can check it out HERE, if you'd like. In the post, I talk a little bit about their blog, a little bit about why I've been so busy these past six months or so (which is also why I've also been so quiet on this here blog, my apologies), and I also announced a new contest, one much simpler than my last: post a comment to my guest blog over at The Book Smugglers, and you're automatically entered into a draw for a free e-book version of Frozen Blood, and I'll also add the three winners' names as characters (either villains or heroes) into my next published book. People seem to be really enjoying it so far, and that's a relief. It would have been mightily embarrassing if people didn't comment, or worse, if they commented but said something like, "Please don't enter me in the draw -- who does this Joel guy think he is, anyway?" So head on over and post a quick comment, why don'tcha?

Second, the 3rd annual Black Quill Award nominations were announced on my birthday, and much to my surprise, Frozen Blood was nominated for Best Small Press Chill. I'm listed with some extraordinary work and a couple of good friends (Michael Louis Calvillo and Kim Paffenroth), and that made the news even merrier! Two awards are given in each category, an editor's choice and a reader's choice, so if you liked Frozen Blood and wanted to vote for it, I won't stop you -- there's information at the bottom of the ballot on how to register and vote. You can check out the full ballot HERE. So head on over and vote, why don'tcha?

Third, I worked all day and then went to a course at night. So that wasn't really celebrating in style, but no matter. I received a whackload of Facebook and Myspace comments, emails and telephone calls, wishing me a happy birthday, and Colleen gave me some Grade-A presents, so it's all good.

Heck, it's all great.