Tag Archives: Murdock

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Dead Ends Author Intro – JR Murdock

I’ve been a fan of and friends with JR Murdock for longer than seems sane. WHen I asked him to join this project I was excited that he said yes. His horror, like his sense of humor, brings something different to the table. Once you read through his interview, go to the end of the post for a nice little freebie!

Despite what you may think, J.R. Murdock did have a normal childhood. If you consider swimming in lakes, playing hide and seek in the woods, and spending more time with his imagination than a television, then yes, it was normal. There are those times when little voices will talk to him inside his head. This was never a frequent occurrence and he learned to ignore them. Most of the time.

His first book was attempted over several years (probably closer to a dozen) and somehow that book about Dungeon and Dragons characters just never really worked out the way he wanted it to. Someday it might! Just you wait and see. Those characters will not stay down. They will have their story told! I’m telling you here and now…

Shhh, calm. Relaxed. Don’t scare away the nice people that have come to this page and might want to buy a book (or three).

Where were we? Oh, yes, the voices inside his head. They like to talk to at inappropriate times. Fortunately they also talk to at appropriate times and that’s when books happen. Yes, the voices must have their story told or they just keep talking over one another and it’s just a big old jumbled mess and nobody will want to read anything like that, right? So it’s good that they get their chance to come out so that you’ll have something to read and enjoy.

When not listening to the voices inside his head, J.R. Murdock spends time with his wife and his favorite daughter (yes, there is only one daughter that’s why she’s his favorite). They reside in sunny San Diego which is about as close to paradise as you can get and still be in a big city.

You can find out more about him at http://jrmurdock.com & http://ofgnomesanddwarves.com

Why do you write/like horror? I dabble in most genres, but most of my short stories tend to have a darker element regardless of genre. I love to get into a character’s head, reveal their hopes and dreams, then crush them and make the character squirm!

What inspired this particular story? A picture on http://everyphototells.com. I just saw a picture of an outdoor restaurant with a bunch of people sitting outside and thought “That’s a great place to break it off with a person, but what if they don’t want to break it off as well? Hmmm….

What’s the best horror movie you watched recently? I recently re-watched Pitch Black. There’s a new Riddick movie coming out and I’m getting caught up and ready for the new movie. There are a lot of your basic horror elements in that movie. Isolation, an unknown danger, and almost no way to fight your way out.

What scares you? Scott Sigler. And my own imagination when writing in a dark room while the house is quiet…well, except for those creaks and groans it makes.

What are you working on now? Currently I have 6 books with edits from two different editors. I need to apply those edits, get covers, and get those books out the door (one of which is V&A Shipping II!) I also need to re-write a short story for a market that would like to see some changes as well as write three requested short stories. Once I have all that done, I can complete Golden West Season II (I’m about 3/4th done with that one) and I can take a breath and see what is next on my plate. I like to keep myself busy.

What’s your favorite beverage while writing? Water. Lots and Lots of water. I find the need to pee causes me to write faster before I have to just up and relieve myself. I don’t want to stop! So this pushes me to work faster. Sometimes 🙂

Now for the freebies! We’re generating some wallpaper for you to use to show your love for these stories. This one’s based on In The Deep Dark by Justin R. Macumber. Download and share to your heart’s content!

1920×1440 Wallpaper

1680×1050 Wallpaper

Dead Ends is available at Smashwords and Amazon
All proceeds go to the Office of Letters and Light. Please spread the word!

Stories include:
“In The Deep Dark” by Justin R. Macumber
“Morning Dew” by Edward Lorn
“Power in the Blood” by Scott Roche
“Getting Even” by Philip Carroll
“Breakers” by Paul E. Cooley
“Breakup” by J.R. Murdock
“Blister” by Jake Bible
Edited by Sue Baiman
Cover by Scott E. Pond

pimpage

Dead Ends – New Horror Anthology

DeadEnds-002-sm In a week I’ll be releasing a brand new horror anthology. It will contain the following stories:

“In The Deep Dark” by Justin R. Macumber – A sinister power is overtaking men at the bottom of a West Virginia coal mine.
“Morning Dew” by Edward Lorn – A golden liquid surrounds a boy’s treehouse and its taste for human flesh is standing between the boys and safety.
“Power In The Blood” by Scott Roche – Reggie discovers that his thirst for blood can give him strength, but may cost him his soul.
“Getting Even” by Philip Carroll -The wealthy and reclusive Mr. Scott Hasbrook must pay for his sins of greed and murder.
“Breakers” by Paul E. Cooley – People known as “Breakers” remove the broken ‘cogs’ from society’s machinery as ruthlessly as possible.
“Breakup” by JR Murdock – Ruby wants to leave her boyfriend Victor, but he wants eternity or nothing.
“Blister” by Jake Bible – Going to the doctor early is a good idea, particularly if your affliction makes you a happy little psycopath.

The release date for this e-book is 7/26/13. All proceeds for the books sales will be donated to the Office of Letters and Light. If you’re interested in an ARC for review, a full size image of the cover or any more information, leave a comment or email me at scott@scottroche.com.

fiction, pimpage

Astel: Chosen – Ebook Giveaway

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Congratulations to fan and friend (whose podcast I still miss) Stephen Kilbride for winning The Beginner. I hope you enjoy it!

This week I’m giving another novel length ebook. This is a YA Fantasy novel by a good friend and now collaborator JR Murdock, called Astel: Chosen:

The Princess of Strell wants to be like any other sixteen-year-old on her birthday. Unfortunately a young dragon shows up and proclaims Astel Farkas is the Chosen One to be taught magic. The Wizard Sangdanee insists that she must be secured inside the castle. He demands she be taught science by a wizard. So Astel does what any other sixteen-year-old in her situation would do.

She flees the castle.

Now Astel, along with her two handmaidens and an unwilling suitor, must figure out what to do before the Chosen One falls into the wrong hands.

You can, of course, purchase it here as I will be (and actually have for myself).

So, how do you enter? I want to change things up a little bit. I’d like you to pick a friend or a family member who you think would like to receive this book. Leave their first name in the comments section. This way the winner will be the “chosen one”. I will contact you, if you win, for that person’s email address.

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.