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Ray Garton
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message 1: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) For anyone who likes the author's work he has some great blogs here: http://preposteroustwaddlecock.blogsp...

Several of which explain the basis for some of his books. The link above takes you to a blog about his book Crucifax.


message 2: by Kurt (new)

Kurt Reichenbaugh (kurtreichenbaugh) | 122 comments Thanks for posting this link. I've always liked Garton's short stories and have been wanting to find more of his novels.


message 3: by Amanda (last edited Apr 20, 2011 10:02PM) (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) Your Welcome :) I've been reading his blogs lately and find them well written and interesting. You'll be happy to know he's been getting some of his older books back into print! He mentions where you can get them in the blogs as they come out :)


message 4: by Wrath (new)

Wrath (wrathjameswhite) | 20 comments Ray Garton will also be a Guest of Honor at KillerCon this year. A rare appearance by this author. www.KillerCon.org


message 5: by Gatorman (new)

Gatorman | 8320 comments Based on the comments I've seen on these threads, I picked up Ravenous. Looking forward to reading my first Garton book.


message 6: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) He's an awesome writer Gatorman :) I highly recommend The Loveliest Dead and there's a a sequel to Ravenous called Bestial if you like it.


message 7: by Paul (new)

Paul Hollis | 303 comments Ravenous was good. Scissors was ok too.


message 8: by Gatorman (new)

Gatorman | 8320 comments Amanda wrote: "He's an awesome writer Gatorman :) I highly recommend The Loveliest Dead and there's a a sequel to Ravenous called Bestial if you like it."

Amanda, it was actually your comments on Garton that had me pick one up. Thanks for the recommendation!


message 9: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) Gatorman wrote: "Amanda wrote: "He's an awesome writer Gatorman :) I highly recommend The Loveliest Dead and there's a a sequel to Ravenous called Bestial if you like it."

Amanda, it was actually your comments o..."


Glad to hear it :) He's a fascinating writer both in and out of his books.


message 10: by Jason (new)

Jason (darkfiction) | 3233 comments I love Ray Garton's work. My favorites thus far are Bestial and Ravenous.


message 11: by Paul (new)

Paul Hollis | 303 comments Ravenous was great


message 12: by Jason (new)

Jason (darkfiction) | 3233 comments It was indeed!


message 13: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) i'm just waiting til I have the cash and i'll be buying the reprints he has coming out.


message 14: by Lenny (new)

Lenny Nero (lennynero) | 139 comments Just recently read Shackled and thought it was really good, I wouldn't classify it as horror though, more of a crime novel with some really horrific things in it.


message 15: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) Yep he wrote a bunch of those too Lenny :)


message 16: by Martha (new)

Martha (hellocthulhu) | 65 comments I have only read one of Garton's books, The Loveliest Dead and it was very good. Looking through his other books, though, I'm not sure if any of them would appeal to me. I am keeping an eye out at the used book shop, though.


message 17: by Tressa (new)

Tressa  (moanalisa) | 19903 comments I read Loveliest Dead but don't remember a thing about it. Weird, huh?


message 18: by Erica (new)

Erica (bookpsycho) | 256 comments Ravenous is my favorite!


message 19: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) Tressa wrote: "I read Loveliest Dead but don't remember a thing about it. Weird, huh?"

It features a fictional version of the Warrens a couple who went around "investigating" "Haunted Houses" back in the dayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_and_L.... Garton worked with them to write his book In a Dark Place which eventually became A Haunting in Conneticut. He made it clear he felt the family was nuts and that the Warrens hired him to make the whole thing up with some nods to what the family said was going on. They were into the idea of paranormal research as a means of fame and money ala Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.

Its also a pretty awesome haunted house story that features a family dealing with a tragic loss. It was my first Garton book and I got it through the Leisure horror book club bakc in the early 2000s.


message 20: by Jason (new)

Jason (darkfiction) | 3233 comments Apparantly, the Warrens were into doing a lot of drugs as well. Ray Garton busted their bubble, and they weren't happy about it - to say the least. LOL


message 21: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) Jason wrote: "Apparantly, the Warrens were into doing a lot of drugs as well. Ray Garton busted their bubble, and they weren't happy about it - to say the least. LOL"

Ha yep he seems to be fond of that!


message 22: by Mark (new)

Mark (markmckeejr) | 133 comments In a Dark Place is scary as heck! It didn't compare to the movie, which to me was way more pedestrian. It didn't matter to me whether it was factual or not, just letting my mind wander as I read, taking it for what it was, I can't think of a scarier novel.

So Loveliest Dead takes off on this scenario? It's been sitting on my shelf for a year or two. Time to move it up in the pile


message 23: by Kurt (new)

Kurt Reichenbaugh (kurtreichenbaugh) | 122 comments Close to finishing Crucifax. It's really well written and Garton brings up subjects like parental neglect, religion, cult of personality, alienation that haven't really changed at all since it was written in the 80's. Youth pain and angst hasn't really changed. Only difference is no cell phones and the kids play music tapes. I like it a lot. Oh and the main evil guy, Mace, has a platinum mullet.


message 24: by Mark (new)

Mark (markmckeejr) | 133 comments Has the uncensored version, Crucifax Autumn, ever been reprinted since its late 80s Dark Harvest release?


message 25: by Kurt (new)

Kurt Reichenbaugh (kurtreichenbaugh) | 122 comments Mine is the paperback (Simon & Schuster Pocket Book) version from '88 that has the edited scene in question - the version the publisher demanded. I don't know if the unedited version, Crucifax Autumn has been reprinted since its release. The Dark Harvest version is probably pretty collectable now.


message 26: by Amanda (new)

Amanda M. Lyons (amandamlyons) Mark wrote: "In a Dark Place is scary as heck! It didn't compare to the movie, which to me was way more pedestrian. It didn't matter to me whether it was factual or not, just letting my mind wander as I read, t..."

Sort of. It's mostly its own book though


message 27: by Moon (new)

Moon I'm reading my first book by this author. Bestial. I've wondered. Are his books loosely connected, or is each it's own tale?


message 28: by Vince (new)

Vince (vince_fahey) | 45 comments For those who aren't aware, Ray self-published his first ebook... it's a short story called "The Man int the Palace Theater". It was originally a limited edition chapbook published in 2004. It's available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

He will be releasing others in the near future.


message 29: by Vince (new)

Vince (vince_fahey) | 45 comments Ray Garton has released his second self-published work. This one is a re-release of a hard to find, limited editon novella, originally released in 2008 by Cemetery Dance, called Serpent Girl.

"Steven Benedetti's work has him traveling the country, and driving dark, lonely highways.

But tonight, he passes a carnival and decides to stop - for a break, to be around others... just for something different.

At this carnival, Steven Benedetti meets the Serpent Girl, a woman who stirs him like no other woman has, a woman who, like Benedetti, has a secret.

They hit the night roads together and begin a journey that will change Steven Benedetti forever."

The book just hit Amazon and will be available on B&N soon. Along with this novella, is the first chapter from another Garton novel, Sex and Violence in Hollywood, as well as an article Garton wrote regarding the genesis of this novel.

It's available for only $2.99. Please check it out and feel free to post a review on Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, etc.

Thanks.


message 30: by Jason (new)

Jason (darkfiction) | 3233 comments Thanks, Vince!


message 31: by Vince (last edited Aug 16, 2012 04:49PM) (new)

Vince (vince_fahey) | 45 comments You're welcome Jason... spread the word!


message 32: by Vince (last edited Mar 14, 2016 08:51PM) (new)

Vince (vince_fahey) | 45 comments Ray Garton is dipping his toes into the self-publishing waters again, this time with the first digital release of his limited edition novella, Vortex. This novella was initially released by Cemetery Dance in January of 2014. The book is currently available on Amazon for $2.99.

It features two characters from his Night Life and Bestial novels:

"Karen Moffett and Gavin Keoph have investigated vampires in Los Angeles in Night Life and werewolves on the northern California coast in Bestial, but this time they face something utterly baffling . . . and deadly.

Blockbuster horror novelist Martin Burgess has money to burn and enjoys spending it to find out if the paranormal things he writes about are real. He hires Moffett and Keoph and sends them to California’s Mt. Shasta. Long believed by spiritual seekers and New Agers to be a “vortex” of magnetic and spiritual energies, Mt. Shasta is a mystical locale, allegedly the site of alien visitations, paranormal apparitions, bizarre physical phenomena, and even Lemurians, an ancient race of little people from Atlantis believed to be living inside the mountain.

Strange things are happening in the small town at the foot of the mountain, things that have remained invisible to most, but not all, of the residents — things that have caught the attention of Martin Burgess and his small army of computer geeks and conspiracy theorists.

Skeptical of the New Age mumbo-jumbo, Moffett and Keoph encounter an extraordinary, hungry creature that is being used to malevolent ends by a powerful and cruel enemy. Uncovering the mysterious secret in Mt. Shasta is one thing — staying alive long enough to share it with anyone is another."

Ray is looking for readers who'd be willing to, in exchange for a free e-book copy, review the book on Amazon, their blog, Goodreads, etc. If you're interested, please send an email to webmaster@raygartononline.com and include whether you'd like an .ePub or .Mobi version of the book. The first 10 people to email will receive a copy with further instructions. Ray thanks those willing to help him out.


message 33: by Vince (new)

Vince (vince_fahey) | 45 comments Ray Garton is releasing another limited edition novella as a digital edition, this time of The Folks. It is available for pre-order right now, with an expected release date of 4/27/18. You can pre-order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/…/…/ref=wl_mb_...

"Andy Sayer knows what it’s like to feel like a freak. Ever since he was badly burned in a fire started by his drunken mother, the horrible scars on his face have set him apart from others, isolated him.

Now, the patriarch of a prominent but mysterious family, Matthew Bollinger, has taken an interest in Andy. The Bollingers own the entire area and just about everything in it. They live in an enormous house built on the side of Mt. Crag, but they are never seen. Matthew Bollinger wants Andy to come live with them.

In the Bollingers, Andy finds acceptance . . . and the deepest kind of corruption and evil.

Sometimes the worst disfigurements remain invisible . . . until it’s too late."


message 34: by Vince (new)

Vince (vince_fahey) | 45 comments To celebrate Ray's upcoming release of The Folks, Ray is offering another of his novellas, Vortex today for only .99! It can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Ray-Gar...

In the days leading up the release of The Folks, Ray will be putting some of his other books on sale. We will put the information for those here as they go on sale.

Following the release of The Folks, Ray will be re-releasing The Folks 2: No Place Like Home which has only been released as a limited edition novella. That will be followed by an all-new, never before released The Folks 3: Home is Where the Heart Is.


message 35: by David (new)

David Tamarin (davidtamarin) | 0 comments Someone asked about Crucifax Autumn. An entire chapter was deleted from the book. In it a monster performs oral sex on a pregnant woman and ends up sucking the baby out and happily eating it. The entire deleted chapter can be found in either the anthology Splatterpunks or its sequel Splatterpunks 2, I forget which.

My personal favorite Garton books is SCISSORS! It is so demented.

Garton writes in different genres and some of his books like Biofire are thrillers rather than strictly horror. He is also an accomplished Noir writer who has written several dark mystery and suspense crime novels, for example Sex and Violence in Hollywood.

If you like his style you will probably like everything he writes- I definitely do.


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