Glenn Rolfe's Blog

BOOK REVIEW: Brian McAuley Breathe In, Bleed Out

Check it out and don't forget to grab a copy of my latest collection Unusual Occurrences

Happy Tuesday!

Hey, guys!

My Best of Collection is coming out 9.30
It's called Unusual Occurrences: A Collection of Stories. 15 of what I consider to be my best stories.

If you've never read my work or are only familiar with a couple of my novels, please consider checking this collection out.
You can pre-order it for just 99 cents for a limited time.

Track Listing:

1. Out of Range

2. Abram's Bridge

3. The Fixer

4. Not Kansas Anymore

5. Skull of Snakes

6. Fire

7. Too Much of a Dead Thing

8. Harry's Inevitable Extinction

9. Halloween Worm

10. The Rooster

11. The House on Mayflower Street

12. Jackie Boy

13. Welcome to Paradise

14. Girl By Day

15. Boom Town

So, if you love werewolf books....
This one rips! and today only it's FREE:

The Beast of Brenton Woods


Spread the word!

Arrrooooo!

For a limited time, you can grab my two Old Orchard Beach vampire novels Until Summer Comes Around and the sequel, When the Night Falls, for just 99 cents each!

The Lost Boys meets Stephen King's Joyland. Set in 1986 Old Orchard Beach, Maine, this is a book about a boy who falls for a girl that is much more than he bargains for, perfect for fans of Grady Hendrix and fans of Coming-of-Age horror.

"A family of vampires terrorizes a seaside town in Rolfe's lurid tale of adolescent romance and murder." — Publishers Weekly


"Rolfe is a vital part of this horror generation." - Brian Keene, World Horror Convention Award Grandmaster of Horror, and author of GHOUL and THE RISING

"Rolfe's writing is a wonderful throwback to the fun and bloody days of paperback horror glory." — Richard Chizmar, New York Times Bestselling Author

Well, that was a year.

Man, 2024 was a hard one. It's been a true roller coaster ride.

I'm hoping to relax and roll into 2025.
That said, I did enjoy plenty of cool books, movie, and tunes this year.

Some of my favorites:
The Gathering (CJ Tudor)
So Thirsty (Rachel Harrison
Cranberry Cove (Hailey Piper)
Small Town Horror (Ronald Malfi)
and one I am totally sucked into right now as my last read of 2024
Influencer (Adam Cesare)

Movie wise: 5 favs
THE FIRST OMEN, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, HERETIC, LONGLEGS, and BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE.

Songs: 4 favs
"Dilemma" by Green Day
"The Architect" by Kacey Musgraves
"Turn the Lights Back On" by Billy Joel
"Make It All Right" by The Offspring

I also released a couple of books!
My creature feature novella
It Came From The Lake
and
the sequel to Until Summer Comes Around
When the Night Falls

If you missed them, I hope you'll add 'em to your TBR for 2025.

This year, I'll be working on my next novel for Flame Tree Press (THE SIREN OF GROVES PEAK), my novelization of STAKE LAND for Encyclopocalypse Publications, and a couple of surprises.

Also look for my short story "Pulling Teeth" inspired by the Green Day song. It will be featured in the forthcoming PUNK GOES HORROR anthology from Truborn Press in March.

I hope you guys have a happy and healthy New Year. Despite results of November's election, let's go forward with faith in goodness and positive vibes for all those with less. Weathering storms is what the human spirit does best.
We've got this.

-GR 12/31/24

In this day and age of social media algorithms, it is getting harder and harder to keep readers up to date on the latest releases, so.....I've decided to go old school and create a newsletter. I need a way to reach those of you that seem to like my books. Thank you for that, by the way.
If you want to stay up to date, take a second and sign up for that very newsletter!!! :)

Thank you so much and have a great week!

-Glenn

From E Street to 'Salem's Lot

Hey, gang!
I'm currently trying to grow my BookBub audience. If you have a chance today, could you click the link (there's one on my profile) and give me a follow? Have a great Friday!

Follow me on Bookbub

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


First off, I love Stephen Graham Jones. He is one of the absolute coolest people I’ve met. His novels Mongrels and The Only Good Indians are fantastic. His short story collection After The People Lights Have Gone Off is one of my favorite short story collections out there.


But right now, let’s talk Don’t Fear the Reaper.

If I had to describe it in one word: frustrating. I’ll go into that a bit more in a minute.

I was not a huge fan of Jade in the first book, but I totally loved her in this one. I love that Jones took her and tried to force Jade to be Jennifer. I loved it because it felt real. People do it all the time. They try to adjust to the life around them and even try to be someone that they are not. In the end, we get the real Jade back, but I loved the choice of trying to make her change. And you know what? I’m ready for Jade to be Jade in book three!

I loved the serial killer (Dark Mills South). I enjoyed that entire aspect of the story, and it really is what kept me glued to the pages and pushing through the slower parts of the book. I had to see DMS v Jade. I loved most of the death scenes save for the one that I still don’t understand but won’t mention because of spoilers.

Now, personally, I would have liked to have seen a couple of characters (I won’t say who so as not to spoil things) get killed. I like bigger characters meeting their untimely demise in books and movies. I think it adds another dose of reality to these crazy horror stories.

So what’s my deal? Why am I frustrated by this book?

Why? Because of the unbound potential for Don’t Fear the Reaper to be one of the most amazing books of the last decade. Much like its predecessor (My Heart is a Chainsaw) this book is just too long and too drawn out to really stab you right in the face with its awesomeness. In spots, like the beginning and most of the climax, this book is a killer that has you at the edge of your seat. BUT there are chunks (and chunks and chunks) of not super important info and redundancy. If maybe a hundred pages were cut here, I would be raving about this book. I get why he wrote these long passages and sections, you need to really construct your characters and know them inside and out, but as a reader, I only need about twenty-five percent of that. Again, this might just be me. I know a lot of people love both books in this trilogy, and that means they have no problem with what made the final manuscript.

Overall, cut out some of the fluff and this is just a brilliant book. Jones doesn’t have to cut out anything, of course. He’s just putting it all out there and it is working for him. I just prefer the less is more approach in most books. So sue me. I don’t care that I’ve three-starred books one and two. I am honestly looking forward to book three and going in with high expectations. I know Jones can deliver. And even if it's less (or way more) than I want, I HAVE to see how Jade’s story ends.

I give Don’t Fear the Reaper 3 stabby stab stars.



View all my reviews

Cranberry Cove by Hailey Piper

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love haunted hotel stories. I've worked in the industry for fifteen years, and it's always exciting to see how a writer is going to handle this particular "haunting".
Hailey Piper is a force upon the horror scene, so I knew going in this was going to be original and entertaining. I was right.

CRANBERRY COVE is unique in its "ghost" and weightier in its delivery. A story, like its ghost, that will linger.

I've got Piper's Splatter Western next on my bookshelf and I can't wait to see what she brings to that little corner of the horror fiction world.



View all my reviews

So, after being asked if there would be a sequel to Until Summer Comes Around, I finally got hit with an idea for a second story. That story takes place ten years after the horrific events at Old Orchard Beach, Maine. A new documentary about Gabriel Riley, THE BEACH NIGHT KILLERS, arrives and brings attention and more back to the seaside tourist town. And it isn't just reporters that are interested. Rocky Zukas is still kicking around town, trying to figure out how to live with the knowledge bestowed upon him. There are monsters in this world. And where is the one he fell for? Where is November?



When the Night Falls is out June 11th from Flame Tree Press. And I've teamed up with a great co-op bookstore, Tertulia, to help get you guys the absolute best deal on paperback copies. Click the link below to pre-order WHEN THE NIGHT FALLS and save up to 50%
It's 20% for all, and if you sign up for the Tertulia 30 day trial, you can get it for 50% off and FREE shipping.

Boosting pre-order sales is HUGE for us published authors and this is the best deal for readers to secure my upcoming novel. I want to make this my most successful novel to date, and I would love for you to help me with that. WHEN THE NIGHT FALLS is the most fun I think I've ever had writing a book. I loved catching up with these characters! I had no idea I'd write a second book for them, and I love where it took us.

Pre-Order Discount

I hope you'll consider pre-ordering your copy today!
Let's have an awesome summer.