Curtis M. Lawson's Blog

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER THE LIMITED EDITION, SIGNED AND NUMBERED HARDCOVER!

Bear witness to the ghosts and dark gods of Motor City, revealed by the light of a fiery cityscape. It’s the night before Halloween and Detroit is burning in a celebration of arson and vandalism. Devil’s Night is a unique collection of interconnected urban horror stories taking you back to October 30th, 1987. Drawing inspiration from Michigan legends such as the Nain Rouge and the Hobo Pig Lady, Lawson weaves a rich and haunting tapestry of terror and tragedy. Inside these pages, you will find cursed vinyl records, inner-city druids, diabolical priests, and slim slivers of hope. Devil’s Night burns with Curtis M. Lawson’s signature brand of supernatural dread. This is smart psychological horror, ablaze with visceral imagery, with equal measures of heart and heartache.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

In Stock: Late September

DEVIL’S NIGHT by Curtis M. Lawson

Full color cover, and nine full color interior illustrations by Luke Spooner

An all new and original horror collection about the Nain Rouge, the Hob-Goblin of Michigan!

150 signed and numbered hardcover signed by both the author and artist!

Editor: Joe Morey

Page count: 214

PRAISE FOR CURTIS M. LAWSON:

“Curtis M. Lawson’s Devil’s Night is a revelation. Far more than just a random collection of horror stories, this volume of thematically linked tales uses horror, weirdness, and grue to convey the author’s brooding ruminations on the state of our society–the stark contrast of rich and poor, the grim levels of violence that we blandly tolerate in our inner cities, and the struggles of families to remain whole in the wake of crime and tragedy. Lawson is not merely a rising star in contemporary weird fiction; this volume shows that he has fully arrived and is a force to be reckoned with.”

– S. T. Joshi

“Lawson does for Devil’s Night what Carpenter did for Halloween. Creepy, unnerving and unapologetically original.”|

-Duncan Ralston, Author of Ghostland

“Curtis M. Lawson is a formidable new talent in the horror/weird fiction scene, soon to garner more well-deserved attention for his riveting and wildly imaginative work.”

-Jeffrey Thomas, author of Punktown

“Lawson drags us back in time, through smoke and fire, and forces us to confront the hellish realities that ignite his urban landscape.”

– Gregor Xane, author of The Hanover Block

“In his latest collection, Lawson weaves together fourteen tales inspired by the infamous Detroit Devil’s Night and the legend of the Nain Rouge. Venturing back to October 30, 1987, you, the reader, will find yourself plunged into a city on fire and where not, decaying like a tooth from within. Whether venturing out or huddling under the covers, no one is safe from the darkness blighting the city. Lawson paints a stylish and horrific depiction of the conflicts his lost souls, and you with them, must endure in their hopes to make it through the evening. Some of their journeys will touch you, others will tickle you, but all will terrorize you to any modern horror fan’s wicked pleasure. Imaginative, artful, and ever-so-creepy, Devil’s Night will have you burning through its pages and keeping on the light.”

– Jason Parent author of What Hides Within

Due to circumstances beyond the control of either Doug Rinaldi or myself, the release for Those Who Go Forth Into the Empty Place of Gods has been delayed. I believe that Amazon has cancelled all existing pre-orders, so no one should be charged for the kindle edition.

If you ordered the book via the Gehenna & Hinnom Kickstarter they will fulfill the orders around or before the new release date.

I will post an update regarding the book here, on my site, and in my newsletter when it becomes available. My sincere apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience.

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In the wake of the most recent shootings I briefly considered delaying the release of Black Heart Boy’s Choir. A few people actually reached out, saying I may want to think of doing so.

The book is about a school shooting, and I don’t want to romanticize such things or trigger anyone affected by such events.

One person who beta read the book even told me that it was too dangerous to publish, and that it might inspire unstable youth to commit violence.

I think that there is an important discussion to be had though that no one is talking about, and that is why these shootings happen. I don’t think they will ever stop or slow down until we really begin to understand and honestly cope with the psychological and cultural underpinnings responsible.

So that’s why I’m not delaying the book. I’m not saying that my insights are correct, or that I have any of the answers, but my hope is that maybe Boys’ Choir will spark a conversation among people that isn’t happening right now.

Sorry for the long rant. Please be good to each other.

Once upon a time, I was scripting a graphic novel for a small press. It was my first traditionally published gig bigger than an anthology piece, and I was very excited about it. It was a work for hire job where I was essentially adapting the publisher’s detailed outline into a script format. As I began work on the project I found certain aspects of the outline to be a bit weak, clunky, or downright corny.

Despite my excitement over the project, I felt it necessary to voice my concerns. The publisher agreed to a few of the changes I suggested but was adamant about keeping other spots of contention, particularly some bad dialogue. One school of thought dictates that, as a hired gun, I shouldn’t have cared, but I did. My name was going to be on that book forever.

While I was working on this project I was lucky enough to attend Joseph Michael Straczynski’s writing panel at New York Comic Con. When the floor opened to questions I presented my conundrum to Straczynski. Do I follow the direction of the publisher/editor, or do I stick to my guns?

I wish I had recorded his response. It was passionate, moving, and poignant. I can’t recall the exact words, but I will try my best to paraphrase him.

“First consider what the editor says. Be honest with yourself and consider if their input improves the work. If, upon honest consideration, their input harms the work defend your position to the death. Walk away from the project if need be. Writing is a holy task, and you owe it to yourself, to your readers, and to all future writers to approach it with unyielding honesty and reverence. Compromise has no place in the heart of a writer.”

As I said, I’m paraphrasing here, but Straczynski’s words stirred me then, and they guide me still. His advice was helpful in regard to that project years ago, but more importantly, he made me think about the concept of honesty in fiction. But what does that mean? What is honesty in fiction?

Honesty in fiction, at least the way I see it, is being true to your voice, your point of view, and placing your legacy above a quick payoff. It’s about creating work that represents you with sincerity and crafting puzzle boxes of make believe that hold the treasure of your own unique truth within.

One of the common pitfalls I see writers fall into is the trap of trying to write what’s hot. Just the other day I saw an Amazon marketing course claiming to provide the most searched keywords so that authors can tailor their work to trend and market demand. So what’s wrong with this path, you ask? Everyone needs to put dinner on the table, so why not pump out zombie books while they’re in demand?

Let’s continue with zombie fiction as our example. The Walking Dead comic series arguably started up the modern zombie boom. The comic was awesome. Kirkman’s passion for what he was doing was clear, and he put everything he had into it. Because of that passion, and a lot of luck, it made him rich. What about all the imitators?

I’m sure some of the writers who jumped on that bandwagon did so with sincere interest. Some of them made decent money, of course. But let’s face it, a lot of off brand zombie fiction sucks. Now those authors who just wanted to cash in on the zombie craze have compromised their names with subpar fiction they phoned in for a quick payoff. On top of that, they robbed themselves of precious time that could have been used creating something true to their soul. Every minute spent writing to please the market is a lost opportunity to forge something special and unique. And for what? A month’s rent? Is it really worth it?

Just as dangerous as the betrayal of one’s own art is the betrayal of one’s own voice and values. While the former is born of greed or laziness, the latter is often times born of fear or conditioning. We live in a society with cultural, moral, and social norms, and our fiction has developed acceptable tropes based around these norms. While many share a vanilla, advertiser friendly worldview, there are many of us who don’t. Still, most people stick to the basic bitch tropes that a lifetime of corporate media has hammered into our skulls.

Good triumphs in the end.

Love conquers all.

Underdogs have the moral high ground.

The ends don’t justify the means.

But what if you don’t believe these things? Should you be bound by them? Of course not. If you eschew the concepts of good and evil then any black and white, Tolkienesque tale you write is going to stink like bullshit. On the flip side, if you are a person of hope and faith writing grimdark because you grew up on Game of Thrones, your prose will feel as disingenuous to your reader as it does to you.

The reason 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 are great examples of dystopians is not because they were among the first. It is because they were written with true passion and sincere concern for the future. Some contemporary dystopians are very clever, and incredibly well written, but they lack fire. A big part of this problem is many writers approach these stories with the superficial elements in mind and borrow the substance of their themes from the passions and insights of older stories.

I fell into this trap myself while writing an urban fantasy story years back. I’ve always been interested in European paganism, iron age religions, etc… and I decided to write a comic about Celtic myth in the modern day. My protagonist was an ex-cop with a gruff exterior but a heart of gold. You know the type. You’ve seen it a hundred times. When I sent the story to beta readers they all said the same thing – great world building, great villain, lifeless protagonist.

Why? Because I fell into tropes that were at odds with my own beliefs. The protagonist displayed a mixture of New Testament morality and post-modern values that I personally find trouble relating to. As such, I propped her up with the cardboard crutches of played out tropes and hoped she could stand up to the weather. The villain, on the other hand, was a Byronic figure, akin to Milton’s Satan. He was a pre-Christian hero embodying the virtues of an iron age. His struggle was that of a man out of time. From the start, I identified with the him.

The heroine was an afterthought—an archetypal space holder. Upon reflection, it became clear to me that I had chosen to tell the story from her point of view for two reasons. First, because I was subconsciously following the established tropes I was used to. Second, because I was afraid of putting a character with values that went against the grain as the lead. In short, fear kept me from being honest with myself and with the potential audience. The story suffered for my insincerity.

From that project on I have made a concerted effort to make sure that my fiction is sincere, and that there are truth in my lies. I’m a skeptical, inquisitive person and I write stories that pose questions and challenge beliefs. I value men and women of strength, intelligence, and capability, and my characters reflect this. I also don’t take myself (or much of anything) too seriously, and that shines through in a lot of my work as well. To read my books is to know a part of me, and what is the point of creating art if not to give a piece of yourself to the world?

To celebrate the release of To Kill an Archangel: Bad World 2, book 1 is on sale for a limited time!  Don’t miss this chance to snag It’s a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World for just 99 cents!

Once upon a time, I was in a band called The Vengeful & Godless.  It’s not a time I like to revisit much, as there was a lot of pain in my life then, but I stumbled across these lyrics I wrote back then (2003? 2004?). While the poetry and the meter are a bit crude, there is a raw quality to the anger and indignation of them, and the theme still resonates with me. Because of that, I felt them worth sharing.

The Light Bringer and The Rogue:

The story says he wanted to keep us ignorant

Make us mentally frail and call it innocence

Knowledge was right there, but he’d threaten punishment

against anyone bold enough to reach for it

He would cast man out of paradise

Just as he had done with the angel of light

Our ignorance was key to his tyranny

But the serpent came to man and set us free

Knowledge and progress these were Lucifer’s gifts

To man kind, yet we call this angel villainous

What utterly backward morals have we

To worship a god who’d keep our minds empty

The constant and vigilant enemy

of knowledge, right and ascendancy

Yahew, Allah, god all-mighty,

still a mythical rogue from every angle I see

An Azagthoth, a blind idiot god

An allegorical phantom purveyor of fraud

The patron saint of stupidity

Whose malicious streak puts to shame Loki’s

He whom only thunder hath made greater

was only made great by the thunder of the church

and just as the mythical knowledge bringer suffered

Galileo and Bruno would suffer on earth