JASON L. KEENE

Click here and head over to CHOATE ROAD for more details on how you can help your country.

Fellow Americans, I’m not here to juke, jive, and jerk your chain about banks that cannot fail.  Nor am I here to tell you that if you make bad business decisions I will be your Huckleberry.  Nothing in this post relating to why Detroit is going the way of the Dodo.

No…let’s leave that to the bigwigs.

Rather, I’m here to speak with you about saving a way of life.  Horror fiction.  You’ve grown up on it, you read it like a fiend, it makes your world go around.  Don’t feel ashamed, for I, too, am a horror-holic.  Comes with the territory, you know?

The horror and dark fiction industry is in just as much of a rut (if not moreso) as the car and bank industry.  Writers can no longer afford the Sav-A-Lots brand coffee that we once meeked by on, its $2.50-per-can aroma permeating cramped writing nooks and urging us forward into those next 3000 words for the night.  Words you yearn for, words you need. Publishers are feeling the pinch, as well.  Why, just the other day, I saw a ragged fellow standing on the edge of the turnpike holding a sign that read “will work for printing paper.” I’m not going to say whether it was Dale Murphy, Jason Sizemore, or Tim Deal…I’ll leave that to your imagination, whichever you find more entertaining.

Times are indeed tough; money is tight.  We’re all scrapping for pennies, fearing for our futures.  But let’s get right to the skinny–we don’t need no stinkin’ bank stimulus.  That’s not keeping my mind off of the inevitable.  Is it keeping your mind occupied during these tough times?  Didn’t think so.  What we need is fiction–preferably dark fiction and horror.  We need a distraction from the tumultuous toils of everyday humdrummery: layoffs, reposessions, corporate bullshit.  Wouldn’t you like the opportunity to escape into another fictious world full of dark and terrible things for awhile?  It makes daily life that much more bearable, I guarantee it.

And wouldn’t you like to be able to have a say in where your money goes in a world run by financial burden and bailouts handed to every failing economical miscarriage business in the land?  Damned right.  Me too.  And now’s your chance.

The gang over at Choate Road / The Funky Werepig have teamed up with your favorite independant horror and dark fiction presses to bring you the opportunity to do just that…The Horror Bailout Project.

“But Jason,” you’re probably not asking yourself right now. “How can I help? How do I know that my hard-earned money will go to a good cause? And, furthermore, what’s in it for me?” Well here’s the meat and ‘taters…

$20 is all it takes (more if your pockets are lined, don’t hold back!). Go to one of the independant publishing companies (which I will list below) that need your support. It doesn’t matter which author, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a book or a magazine subscription–we need your help. Sink that measley $20 into an offering from our preferred list of horror publishers and you’ve done your part. Not only will this give you some of the best new horror fiction available on the market today, but you will also have the chance to win multiple prizes directly from those publishers and courtesy of Choate Road. After you’ve dedicated your $20 to the good will of all that which is horror lit., head over to the Choate Road forums where you’ll find a section called “The $20 CLUB”…reply in the post as to what you’ve purchased with your $20, and you will automatically be entered in a drawing to receive free goodies straight from the publishers taking part in this massive launch! FREE SWAG! You can’t beat that with a whippin’ stick, no matter how sharply you’ve whittled it.

HORROR BAILOUT LIST OF PARTICIPATING PUBLISHERS (click on name to head over to their websites)

SHROUD PUBLISHING
NECROTIC TISSUE
PERMUTED PRESS
APEX BOOK COMPANY
GRAVESIDE TALES
SKULLVINES PRESS
WITHERSIN MAGAZINE

There you have it, folks. Just hit one of the links above, head to your favorite publisher. Purchase a wonderful anthology, magazine subscription (did I mention that if you subscribe to Shroud Magazine or Necrotic Tissue Magazine you will get some of my stories…the shameless plug is true), or novel/novella from a favorite or soon-to-be-favorite author. Then head over to the Choate Road forums and let us all know what you did, how you played your part in reviving the horror fiction economy. How YOU helped in the Horror Bailout. Spread the word. If you love horror fiction, this is a great way to ensure that the publishers that bring it to you survive the current economical downturn.

The $20 Club contest for free swag ends on June 1st, drawings for said swag goes to several lucky members on the same.

Now go do your part to help ensure that our children will be able to deviantly warp their own minds in the years to come with great horror fiction.