2009-10-24 — Surrey photos, new (old) fiction, and new blogs
Anthony Nadeau sent in some photos from his meeting with Robert McCammon this
evening at the Surrey International Writers' Conference in Surrey, British
Columbia. You can view Anthony's photos here.
Since it's Halloween week, this seemed like a good time to post Robert
McCammon's last horror short story, "The Miracle Mile," from the 1991
HWA anthology Under The Fang. I've also posted McCammon's introduction
to the anthology.
Publishers
Weekly has posted their review of Mister Slaughter. Mild plot
spoilers....
Mr. Slaughter Robert McCammon. Subterranean
(www.subterraneanpress.com), $24.95 (440p) ISBN 978-1-59606-276-4
Murder and ghoulish mayhem are the order of the day in bestseller
McCammon's colorful third thriller featuring problem-solver Matthew
Corbett and his escapades in early 18th-century America. After
confronting a criminal mastermind in The Queen of Bedlam (2007),
Matthew finds himself a celebrity whose exploits have become
sensational fodder for colonial tabloids. This heady attention
contributes to a bad lapse of judgment when he and his senior
associate, Hudson Greathouse, accidentally allow a brutal murderer,
Tyranthus Slaughter, to give them the slip while they transport him to
prison in Philadelphia. The rousing narrative details Matthew's dogged
pursuit of the indestructible Tyranthus as the killer cuts a bloody
swath through the Pennsylvania wilderness. McCammon shows a sure hand
balancing scenes of Matthew's quiet contemplation with the
cold-blooded carnage that makes his quarry's name so appropriate.
(Jan.)
There's now a Robert McCammon channel on Twitter! Note that this is the
channel for this website; tweets will be posted by Hunter....
2009-10-17 — Conventions, reviews, blogs, and discussions
Robert McCammon will be a Special Guest of ConFusion 2010 (and Subterranean
Press) in Troy, MI, January 22–24, 2010. Information about the convention can
be found on the ConFusion 2010
website.
Also, a reminder that Robert McCammon will be attending the
Surrey International Writers' Conference
next weekend, October 23–25, 2009, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
There is a signing event that's open to the public.
Another review of Mister Slaughter has been posted to Bev Vincent's
Onyx Reviews
website. The review contains many spoilers for the novel's plot, so be
careful about reading it. The review ends with this statement:
The book is a fine installment in a series whose charming protagonist
has a lot of life left in him.
If you live in the Suburban Chicago area, the Fremont Public Library book
discussion group will be discussing Boy's Life on Tuesday, October 27,
2009.
BookMarkers Book Discussion: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, Fremont Public Library,
1170 N. Midlothian Road, Mundelein. "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon will be
discussed. Call (847) 918-3206 or visit
fremontlibrary.org.
Author Chuck Wendig recently posted a blog in which he ranks his favorite
Robert McCammon novels. It's a fun read, but may not be for everyone.
You can read the blog on Chuck's
Terrible Minds site.
2009-10-01 — Mister Slaughter reviews and blog posts
The first full review of Mister Slaughter has been posted by Mark
Sieber at Horror
Drive-In. A link to his starred review, as well as great, early
comments by Brian Keene, Mark Justice, and Wayne C. Rogers can all be
found on Matthew Corbett's
World.
Steve Berman of the blog GuysLitWire recently posted a fantastic essay on why
Boy's Life is one "of the greatest reads. Ever." You can read
the essay here.
Also, don't forget that video and audio of Robert McCammon reading a different
chapter from Mister Slaughter is available here.
2009-09-09 — Video and audio from The Big J Read now available
Thanks to the recording efforts of Stephen Ellison, Mat Grau, and Jason
Giaccone, we now have video and audio of Robert McCammon's visit to Jesuit High
School in August for the culmination of The Big J Read community reading project.
I wanted to give you an update of what's going on, and tell you a little
bit about my recent trip to Jesuit High School in New Orleans.
First off, I'm about a hundred and twenty to a hundred and forty pages
away from finishing the new book. Still looking to finish it up in
(late) September, because as I near the end of a project I start writing
faster. I'm doing my ten p.m. to six a.m. schedule right now.
I've gotten a few questions I'd like to answer. One was about why I
don't do a book about The Lady from Boy's Life. I actually did
start on a book about her before I wrote Boy's Life, but for one
reason or another I wasn't satisfied with it. I got about two hundred
pages in. It just wasn't coming to life for me, though, so I put it
aside. It did have some pretty interesting bits: a swamp snake that
travelled with her as her companion and hated all other humans due to
the murders of her "children," a town of half-submerged
antebellum mansions, a shadowy New Orleans maskmaker who created masks
for criminals and murderers that actually became the person's new
face...but I couldn't make it go. I think I was conflicted about
whether to portray "voodoo" as fantasy or reality.
Another question is why I didn't—or wouldn't—do a sequel to
The Wolf's Hour. I actually had planned on doing a sequel, or
more than one sequel, but Irwyn Appelbaum, who was the honcho at Pocket
Books at the time, shot the idea down. I usually don't listen to honchos,
but he said he thought my primary audience was women, and he didn't think
women liked "war books."
Hmmm. I wonder now if he ever read the book?
But anyway, I was off on the next book at the time, so I didn't worry
about it. As for doing a sequel now, it might be interesting, but my
plate is pretty full. If I was to do that, it would be a long way down
the road, and for the present, the Matthew series suits my need to do
action/adventure.
Speaking of New Orleans, it was a great trip. I spoke to a gathering of
parents on Monday night, and then on Tuesday spoke to the students in
two sessions. Everybody there was fantastic, I think I was able to
connect with the guys (you can make up your own mind on that if and
when you see the videos) and it was just really fun.
One thing: if you see the video of the first session, you will see
terror leap into my eyes at the beginning of the question-and-answer
session when I realize I can't hear the questions being asked. Yow. So I
was able to take the microphone down to the floor and both hear the
questions and answer them more "face-to-face." You always think what
hideous thing might happen when you're in front of an audience like
that, and 8th to 12th grade young men are a tough audience. I
had the mental image of tumbling down the steps leading from the stage
to the floor, either to land on my face or on my backside, which would've
made a memorable trip and a great YouTube vid.
The gentleman who serves Jesuit High School as the Director of Alumni,
Mat Grau, posed two questions to me a couple of weeks before I left
Birmingham for New Orleans. They were "Who is Cory today?" and
"What is he becoming aware of?"
So, as you'll see and hear in the videos, I wrote Cory a letter and asked
him, and he was kind enough to write me back.
He wrote:
Hello Rick,
I hope everything's good with you. The family's doing well. My daughter
is really getting up there now. Twenty years old! Can you believe it?
Well, I'm glad you haven't forgotten your old bud. We do go back a ways,
don't we? I haven't been to Zephyr for a long time. The interstate has a
way of speeding you right past the turnoff, but that's okay because I
always know that when I'm ready to go back to Zephyr, Zephyr is always
ready to welcome me.
I've given some thought to the questions you asked.
I am both the same as I was and different too. Aren't we all? It seems
to me that this is part of the challenge of life—to try very hard to
keep some inner part of yourself flowing pure and clear and strong,
while the world throws everything it can at you to muddy your river.
I have to admit—my river has known some turbulence. It has been
tested over rough rocks and daunting falls. It has at some places in its
journey been darkened by silt and sullied by garbage. But I have
tried—and still try—my best to keep it flowing strong toward
the sea of its ultimate destination.
Wherever that may be.
I have a road I walk. I call it "my road." I particularly enjoy it in
late August, in the fading blue light of summer, betwixt and between the
sun and the moon. I think of many things on this road. I remember, I
dream, I imagine. I give thanks for what I have, and what I have to look
forward to.
Often on this road the cicadas of late summer sing in the trees. I never
fail to hear them say, from either side of that long and twisting
road—
Zephyr...Zephyr...Zephyr.
I know where I've been. I don't know exactly where I'm going. But I do
believe that when I get there, it will be a wonderful place.
Thank you for your letter. Take care.
Your friend,
Cory.
P.S. You'll never believe what I found the other day on eBay. I bought
it. It's not in style anymore, but it sure is a pretty bike.
I wonder if it might be the very same one. And if it would remember me,
and wake up like a lamp turning on in the dark.
Now that would really be magic, wouldn't it?
As always, thank you for your readership, your comments, and your interest in
my work. Like I said, I hope to be finished with the new book soon, and
in this household that will be a very happy day.
Best Wishes,
Robert McCammon
Webmaster's note: We hope to have audio and video of the Big J Read
events posted here within the next week or so.
2009-08-28 — Mister Slaughter ARC giveaway!
We're giving away five (5) Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) of Robert
McCammon's Mister Slaughter! Visit
Matthew Corbett's World for details!
2009-08-18 — Reports from McCammon's presentations at Jesuit High School
Robert McCammon visited Jesuit High School in New Orleans, LA, on Monday and
Tuesday, August 17 and 18, 2009. His visit was the culmination of the Big J
Read, a summer community reading project centered around McCammon's
award-winning 1991 novel Boy's Life.
The following was taken from the Jesuit
High School website.
Blue Jays Meet the Big J Read
Author: Boy's Life Robert
McCammon
Author Encourages Blue Jays to Read, to Think, and to Learn from
Life's Challenges
In his talk with the school community, Boy's Life
author Robert McCammon shares his experiences as a writer to teach the value
of overcoming challenges and disappointments. Above, Mr. McCammon answers a
question from senior Paul Mickan (right).
Jesuit Parents, Alumni & Friends Prove an Enthusiastic Audience as
Boy's Life Author Robert McCammon Describes the Intricacies of Writing
Novels
An audience of almost a hundred parents, alumni, faculty, and
friends pay rapt attention Monday evening (August 17) to Boy's Life
author Robert McCammon, who is visiting Jesuit High School in connection with the
Big J Read
project. Mr. McCammon shared the pleasures and difficulties of the writing
process, including conceiving ideas and bringing them to fruition,
character and plot development, and even the delicate art of
negotiating with the publisher the inclusion of profanity in books
such as Boy's Life. Following his address, Mr. McCammon graciously
answered questions, signed his books, and chatted with several Blue
Jay bibliophiles.
Best-selling
author Robert McCammon is giving JesuitHigh
School's inaugural Big J Read a
huge shot in the arm. His appearance Monday evening at Jesuit was the
opening of a double-header that attracted an enthusiastic audience.
The
second half of the double-header takes place on Tuesday (August 18) when Mr.
McCammon talks about writing Boy's
Life and his numerous other novels with several hundred Blue
Jays.
Author Robert McCammon on the stage of Jesuits Auditorium on Monday
evening.
Boy's Life, the winner of the 1991 Bram Stoker Award and the 1992 World Fantasy Award for Best
Novel, was selected by a faculty committee as Jesuits first Big J Read project in which the
entire Blue Jay Community reads a single novel over the summer for the sheer
pleasure of reading. Boy's Life is a
coming-of-age novel, a whirlwind voyage into the realm where innocence and evil
are on a collision course a tour de force of magic and wonder, a journey that
is at once joyful, unrelentingly mysterious, and hauntingly poignant, according
to the book's dust jacket.
Mr. McCammon says he is greatly honored by the selection of Boy's Life as the first Jesuit
Big J Read and
recalls fond memories of addressing Blue Jays back in 1994 when he was the
featured speaker at the school's bi-annual Visiting Authors program. Fifteen
years ago, he still remembers the perceptiveness of Blue Jays in their
questions and comments about his book.
In his recent letter to
the Jesuit Community, Mr. McCammon admits that Boy's Life remains somewhat of a mystery even to him. "I put down the
words, I arranged the sentences, I guided the plot along until I reached The
End and there were no more words to be written," Mr. McCammon writes in his
letter.
"Yet...Boy's
Life continues to amaze me, because it seems to be more than words and
sentences and line of plot. For some readers, it has no End, for they read it
over and over again. They draw comfort from it, and they see it as a window
into the world of wonder. Sometimes I think that even though I wrote Boy's Life, I was just along for the
ride, for I had no idea how the book would touch so many people in so many
countries, and across so many generations."
Once again, Jesuit High School welcomes
Robert McCammon to New Orleans and Carrollton and Banks!
The Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) of Robert McCammon's Mister Slaughter have
arrived. The ARCs are sent out to reviewers and booksellers ahead of
publication. Thanks to Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press, we'll be giving
away copies of the Mister Slaughter ARCs in the coming weeks. Keep an
eye on Matthew Corbett's
World for details!
2009-07-28 — An Update from Robert McCammon
Hi everyone,
I wanted to check in and again say thank you for your comments and
observations. I believe I mentioned to you guys last time about how much
I value your presence, so I thought this time I would talk a little bit
about the new book and some other things coming up.
First off, I'm on track to finish the new book in September, and I'm
really looking forward to that because it's so intense. I'm into my late
night work now, staying up until five or so in the morning most days. If
you don't know, the book is about a rock band on their final tour across
the Southwest who decide to end their "run" together by writing a
communal last song. I can't say the name of the book because it's also
the name of the band, and I don't want that getting around just yet.
It has a strong supernatural element, but I can't really say it's
"horror," unless you consider the horrific things people can
do to each other. I've been interested in music pretty much all my life,
particularly in the retro keyboards and combo organs of the '60s, but
this book is set in 2008 and hopefully does a good job of illuminating
the day-to-day (or gig-to-gig) trials and tribulations of working bands.
One thing, the language is very rough, really a lot rougher than I'm
used to writing, but I think it's true to life.
I'm actually writing some "songs" for this, which is also
something I've never done. Well...lyrics for songs, that is. Writing in
the voices of people in their mid-twenties instead of my real age has
been a challenge, too. But, hey, a writer has to be something of an
actor, too, so I put that down to necessary stagecraft.
Another interesting thing is that I've needed to come up with a lot of
fictitious names for bands, though I do reference many real ones. I
can't tell you how many times I've thought I had come up with a cool
band name nobody else could've conjured, and then I go to Google to
check it and...WHAM!...there's a real band with that name.
Anyway, a September finish for that one. Here's something I'll throw at
you from the book: Stone Church. (Not the title nor the name of any band
in the book.)
As I understand it, there's a January pub date for Mister
Slaughter from Subterranean Press. The artwork that's going to be in
there is awesome. Bill Schafer of SP gave me the opportunity to suggest
one more piece of art than was initially slated to be in there, and I
hope I picked out a good one. (At least it sure does look good to me!)
I'll have to spill the hotspur peas and tell you that Matthew does
survive Mister Slaughter, though I can tell you it's a close-run
item. In fact, he survives it to appear again in the following book
(title can't be revealed yet) that begins in New York and goes to one of
the Bermuda islands. I'm currently researching the fascinating subject
of underwater diving suits, diving bells and such in the early 1700s.
Did you know that somebody had already built a working submarine by
1620? It was powered by twelve oarsmen, the oars sealed up against the
inrush of water by tight leather sleeves.
I'll be starting this book probably in February. After that, I'm
planning on doing another more modern book (well, set in the 1930s) that
takes place in New Orleans. Then back to Matthew again.
So, I just wanted you guys to know what's coming up. I appreciate so
much the comments and well-wishes, they are very much needed sometimes
around four in the morning.
Thanks for checking in with the website!
Best,
Robert McCammon
July 27, 2009
2009-07-16 — New fan artwork
New fan artwork based on Robert McCammon's novels has been added to the Fan Artwork page.
"Drowned Skull" by Olivier Frot The Night Boat
"Drink with Me" by Candra They Thirst
"Change" by Jordan Blake The Wolf's Hour
A technical issue with the Guestbook
has been corrected. Apologies to anyone who couldn't post over the past few
weeks....
2009-07-11 — Short story reprint, more photos, iPhone app
Robert McCammon's zombie short story, "Eat Me," will be reprinted
in the upcoming
Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead, an anthology edited by John
Skipp. The book will be published as a trade paperback in October
(according to Skipp) by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
Robert McCammon won the 1989 Bram Stoker Award for Best Short Story for
"Eat Me." The story can be read for free here.
Robert McCammon's The Queen of Bedlam is now available as an iPhone application.
The app uses Iceberg Reader to display the book. It's priced at $15.99.
For more information, see
this blog post. It can easily be found via an iPhone by simply searching
the App Store for "McCammon."
Robert McCammon's Facebook page is easier to find now, using the following URI:
Song by Timo "The Doc" Heikkinen, lyrics from a poem by
Robert R. McCammon. The "Professional Help" from Jouko
Isokangas (kontra), Aleksi Ikonen (drums), Anna Itkonen (vocals),
AP Sipilä (guitar), and Olli Tuomainen (soprano saxophone).
2009-06-10 — The Big J Read update and recent links
As noted below in the May 19 update, Jesuit High School in New Orleans is
sponsoring a community read this summer, and the book they've selected is
Robert McCammon's Boy's Life.
The Jesuit High School website now has a Boy's
Life Resource Page, with links to news articles about some of the
real-life events depicted in Boy's Life and other related articles.
Also, the Resource Page has these details regarding Robert McCammon's planned
visit to the school:
Let's Talk About Boy's Life
The Jesuit High School community is invited to
a program with the author on August 17, 2009,
7:00 p.m. in the Jesuit auditorium.
A student program with the author during the school day on August 18, 2009, has
been scheduled. Details about this event will follow at a later date.
A fantastic new review of Boy's Life has been posted on the blog
Trish's
Books.
2009-06-07 — Robert McCammon receives DeepSouthCon Phoenix Award
Robert McCammon was awarded the 2009 Phoenix
Award by
DeepSouthCon,
held this year in conjunction with Nashville's Hypericon 5 on Saturday, June 6, 2009.
The Phoenix Award is a lifetime achievement award presented to a science
fiction or fantasy professional with connections to the South.
Unfortunately, Mr. McCammon could not attend the awards ceremony. The award
was accepted on his behalf by Hunter Goatley.
2009-05-31 — Mister Slaughter update from Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press has posted the following Mister Slaughter update on
their site:
Robert McCammon's latest historical thriller, Mister
Slaughter, is proceeding very smoothly toward publication. Vincent
Chong has turned in not only what may be the best cover of McCammon's
career, he's also contributed six interior illustrations to the novel—a pair of
which are posted to the book's page.
Robert McCammon is currently giving Mister Slaughter his final
proofing pass, and also has the two-color signature sheets for the limited
edition on hand. Meanwhile, back at the [SubPress] ranch, we have a long new
interview with McCammon about the Matthew Corbett novels, conducted by
long-time McCammon enthusiast Hunter Goatley, and will be
pairing it up with an exclusive excerpt from the novel, in a freebie chapbook
that we'll begin including with orders in a month or so.
Jesuit High School in New Orleans,
LA, is leading a summer reading program called The Big J
Read. Jesuit students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni will
all be reading Robert McCammon's Boy's Life this summer. An estimated
1,300 readers will participate in the community read. The project is
designed to encourage reading, and students will not be objectively
tested over the story. Robert McCammon will be giving a presentation
at Jesuit High School on August 18, 2009.
The links below lead to the Jesuit High School website:
Subterranean Press has posted the following Mister Slaughter update on
their site:
As you can tell from Vincent Chong's dust jacket, Robert McCammon's singular
creation Mister Slaughter is a nasty fellow indeed, surrounded as he is with
the implements of his chosen trade.
The novel progresses well, as we've just sent the author page proofs to review,
and will be printing ARCs for the book as soon as we have his corrections. In
addition, Hunter Goatley has just conducted an interview with Rick, which will
be included, along with an excerpt from the book, in an exclusive chapbook we'll
be including with orders for various SubPress titles through the summer and
fall.
Subterranean Press, Robert McCammon, and I have launched a new website devoted
to the Matthew Corbett novels. Matthew Corbett's World
contains information about the Matthew Corbett books, including excerpts from
Speaks the Nightbird and The Queen of Bedlam. It's a
work-in-progress, as there are still some additions planned for the site.
I've created a new banner image to promote the release of Mister
Slaughter. If you'd like to help spread the word, please feel free to
link to our banners! The relevant HTML code is below each image.
(Thanks to Steven West for the top banner!)
As noted a couple of months ago, Pocket Books will be releasing
Robert McCammon's epic 1987 post-apocalyptic novel Swan Song in a trade
paperback edition in November 2009.
The book will also be released as an eBook in November 2009. The page doesn't
list the formats yet, but will presumably be released in Adobe, Microsoft, and
Palm formats. Those are the formats in which The Queen of Bedlam was released. No
word yet on whether or not it'll be released in Kindle format.
The 1987 Dark Harvest anthology Night Visions IV contained stories
written by Dean Koontz, Edward Bryant, and Robert McCammon. Aside from a
paperback edition of the anthology, titled Night Visions: Hardshell,
the McCammon stories in the book have never been reprinted.
The first story, "The Deep
End," which won the 1987 Bram Stoker award for Short Story,
has been available on this site for a few years.
The final Night Visions IV story is a novella entitled "Best Friends." The novella
was nominated for the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. It's not for
the squeamish, as it's probably the most visceral short story McCammon has
written.
2009-04-17 — Mister Slaughter now available for Preorders!
Subterranean Press has just posted the following:
We've just posted preorder information for Mister Slaughter, Robert
McCammon's third entry in his Matthew Corbett series of historical
thrillers. We've kept the numbered and lettered limitations low for
such an important book, and expect both to sell out fairly quickly.
(We've also promised copies to our regular dealers, making a quick
sell through even more likely.)
Head over to the book's page, check out the details, and get your
order in if you're of a mind.
Trade: Fully cloth-bound hardcover edition: $24.95 Limited: 274 signed numbered copies, in slipcase: $125 Lettered: 26 deluxe bound copies housed in a custom traycase: $500
2009-04-08 — More exciting news from Subterranean Press!
As we announced a few days ago, Subterranean Press will be publishing
Robert McCammon's new novel, Mister Slaughter. They've fast-tracked the
book for a planned Fall 2009 release; the manuscript is being copy-edited now.
Both signed limited and trade hardcover editions are planned. We'll have more
details about pricing soon.
Subterranean has also announced that they will be releasing signed limited
editions of two of McCammon's older classics, Stinger and The Wolf's
Hour. More details on these books will come in the future, as they're
concentrating on Mister Slaughter right now.
Robert McCammon will be a guest at the Surrey
International Writers' Conference in Surrey, British Columbia,
Canada, from October 23–25, 2009. While the conference is geared toward
writers, there is a signing event that's open to the public. No details of
when that event will be held have been announced yet.
For those of you who like to get website updates via RSS, a new
RobertMcCammon.com RSS Feed
is now available. RSS readers are built in many email and browser
applications. There are also RSS reader apps available for the iPhone,
allowing you to keep up-to-date wherever you are. You can subscribe
by clicking on the
RSS icon at the
top of each page, or by entering this URL in your RSS reader:
https://www.robertmccammon.com/feed
Robert McCammon was a keynote speaker at Alabama Bound on March 28, 2009.
He read a chapter from Mister Slaughter, his upcoming third novel in the Matthew
Corbett series. We're pleased to present video and audio of the reading for
your viewing and listening pleasure!
Thanks to Stuart Hale and Craig Popplewell for recording the event.
At the end of the presentation, Mr. McCammon revealed that the title of
the next Matthew Corbett book is The Providence Rider. Work on
that novel will not begin until he finishes the contemporary novel (the
"rock band" novel) he's currently writing.
Last year, YouTube user Viorica8597 posted a video she made telling the
story of
Isaac Woodward, the magistrate from Speaks the Nightbird, using clips from the movie
To Kill a King (click here to view the video).
The same user recently posted another video, this time telling the story of
Matthew and Rachel, using clips from The Scarlet Letter. You can watch
her new video by clicking here.
2009-03-22 — Robert McCammon video interview for Alabama Bound
The Birmingham Public Library recently posted a
video interview
with Robert McCammon to promote this Saturday's Alabama Bound event.
(I have corrected the audio/visual synchronization problem in the
original BPonline post.)
Robert McCammon will be reading from the upcoming third novel in the
Matthew Corbett
series, Mister Slaughter, at Alabama Bound.
If all goes as planned, video of the event will be posted here soon.
2009-03-06 — Swan Song trade paperback in November 2009
Turns out there's going to be one last Pocket Books reprint: a trade paperback
edition of Swan Song will be released in November 2009. The preliminary cover
art is shown to the right and has been added to the Book
Cover Gallery.
2009-03-01 — Rare McCammon short story added to site
The 1987 Dark Harvest anthology Night Visions IV contained stories
written by Dean Koontz, Edward Bryant, and Robert McCammon. Aside from a
paperback edition of the anthology, titled Night Visions: Hardshell,
the McCammon stories in the book have never been reprinted.
The first story, "The Deep
End," which won the 1987 Bram Stoker award for Short Story,
has been available on this site for a few years.
The second story, "A Life in the Day of," has been added to the
Short Stories page. You can read it by clicking
here.
The final Night Visions IV story, "Best Friends," will
be published here soon.
Robert McCammon will be a keynote speaker and will sign books at Alabama Bound on Saturday, March 28,
2009. The event will be held at the Birmingham Public
Library in Birmingham, AL. The Alabama
Bound website lists the participants (including our friend
Charles Ghigna), but the actual
schedule has not yet been posted.
Website All Poetry held a contest in
October 2007 for fiction-inspired poems. The winning poem was inspired by
Robert McCammon's post-apolyptic novel Swan Song. It is entitled
"Nuclear Comedy"
and was written by Anthony C. Ekman. Click on the title to read the poem on
AllPoetry.com.
2009-01-08 — New agent, new interview, new Italian edition
Robert McCammon has just signed on with the
Donald Maass Agency! It's too soon
for any news on Mister Slaughter, but the Maass Agency has already
started working to find a publisher for the novel. We'll have another update from Robert McCammon
within the next month or so....
Italian publisher Gargoyle Books
will be publishing La maledizione degli Usher, an Italian translation of
Usher's Passing, in March 2009. The cover art is shown to the right. Click on the
image to view a larger version (it has also been added to the Book Cover Gallery, of course). Thanks to Paolo for
the cover image!
In 2008, Pocket Books published new trade paperback editions of Robert
McCammon's novels Boy's Life and Gone South. Both editions included new
forewords by McCammon. Both forewords are now available on this site.
Hi all. I wanted to report on what was happening with Mister
Slaughter. Unfortunately we don't have a publisher yet, but never
fear, we're still pushing ahead. The deal is that I just didn't think
Pocket did a very good job with The Queen of Bedlam. There was
no promotion at all (well, there was a small ad in the New York Times
Review of Books, but that was because the publisher at Pocket liked the
cover), and I just can't throw Mister Slaughter into the fire.
If you guys want to know where I am mentally, just read the commentaries
in the new Pocket editions of Boy's Life and Gone South.
I'm not saying you should buy them if you already have them, but take a
look at those commentaries. They tell a harsh story, but it's where I
am.
Due to the economy, publishers are buying fewer books and seem to be
reluctant to put money in promotion or author's tours. If the book
doesn't make X amount of profits, whoever championed that particular
book gets his or her head cut off, because of the corporate structure of
the publishing world. And in my particular case and the case of Pocket,
I honestly think they have no idea how to promote the Matthew Corbett
series. Really...I don't think they understand the books or see the
potential in Matthew's story.
Wouldn't be the first time, guys. Recall that I had to fight to keep
Boy's Life from being turned into a run-of-the-mill mystery
piece, and that was only one of many fights I had with Pocket over the
years.
So here I am again, similar to when I took Speaks the Nightbird
home and thought I was done with publishing. This time, though, I have
lots of options and I'm determined to continue Matthew's story to the
finish. The problem is that sorting all this out is going to take some
time, and I want to be careful that I find the right people in the
business who'll help me continue on.
I had hoped that Mister Slaughter would be out in October of
2009, but it probably won't be. I'm cleaning house, and what I have to
do may add several more months to the schedule.
One of the elements of Mister Slaughter is that Matthew is really
beaten and bruised by Tyranthus Slaughter during the course of the book,
but he never gives up. The book is about not quitting in the face of
adversity, as a matter of fact. Matthew is not a quitter. He's a good
example for me to follow, and that's what I intend to do.
Thank you for hanging in with me, and hopefully within a month or so,
I'll have some better news.
Best Wishes,
Robert McCammon
October 30, 2008
2008-09-16 — An Update from Robert McCammon
Hi everybody,
I wanted to check in and tell you how much I appreciate your comments.
I guess it would be a cliche to say that your positive response to my
work is one of the major things that keep me going, but this doesn't
make it any less true. A writer very often feels like he or she is
working in the dark, so any candle of response is much appreciated.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write in and let me know.
I finished Mister Slaughter in June, but I'm still waiting to see
exactly when the book's going to be published. My agent and publisher
are "in talks" (another cliche, I suppose, but again true) and I'm
hoping to find out something within the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, I wanted to tell you what the future holds. Knowing
from experience that nothing can be written in stone, my plan is to
write a contemporary novel next, before I do the next Matthew Corbett
book. It's about a rock band and is set in the summer of 2008, but
that's about all I can say right now.
The Matthew Corbett books are a real challenge to do, with putting
together the story and the research, and I've decided it would be fun
(?) to do this book set in the here-and-now before getting started on
the next Matthew story.
As a matter of fact, I hope to do another contemporary book after I
finish the next Matthew book as well. I'm planning on doing seven more
Matthew books, so it looks like I'm not going to be sitting around in
retirement like I thought I was going to be a few years ago, so in
that instance my crystal ball was severely cracked. And I'm glad it
was, because I really am enjoying writing the Matthew series.
So...that's basically where I'm going for the next few years. At one
point I'd hoped to be able to do a Matthew book every year, but
they're too complicated for that and I do need some downtime between
them. This idea about the band has really reached out and grabbed me,
so we'll see. This is kinda scary for me because I haven't written a
contemporary book for a good long while (as in many years).
Again, thanks for your comments and your participation on the website.
Thanks for all your well-wishes and your appreciation of my work, and
I'll talk to you again further along the way.
Check the links at the top of the page for all sorts of information related to the works
of Robert McCammon.
Introduction
Robert McCammon is the award-winning author of 14 novels and numerous short
stories. In the 1980s, McCammon's horror novels were among the most popular
published, including such bestsellers
as Swan Song,
They Thirst, and
Stinger. In the 1990s, McCammon's
work turned toward the mainstream, with such novels as the phenomenal
Boy's Life, MINE, and Gone South.
Now, after a ten-year hiatus, a new Robert McCammon novel,
Speaks the Nightbird, is available from
River City Publishing!
This web site is the official Robert McCammon web site. In addition to
information and news related to Speaks the Nightbird, you'll also
find short fiction, a bibliography, interviews, and lots more.
2009-09-01 — An Update from Robert McCammon
2009-07-28 — An Update from Robert McCammon
