2008-12-15 — New Forewords Online
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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.
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2008-12-11 — YouTube video
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YouTube user Viorica8597 has created a video telling the story of Magistrate
Isaac Woodward from Speaks the Nightbird using clips from the movie To Kill a
King. You can view the video on YouTube.
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2008-12-10 — New French release of Bethany's Sin paperback
- French publisher Bragelonne, under their Milady imprint, is releasing a new
paperback edition of La Malédiction de Bethany, a French translation
of Robert McCammon's Bethany's Sin. The translation is by Jacques Guiod (who
translated the book for the original Pocket release), and the
book's cover art is by Anne-Claire Payet.
The book will be released on February 6, 2009.
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2008-11-13 — More vintage book covers
- Over the past few weeks, I've added covers scans of more international
editions of McCammon's novels, in addition to improved scans of some covers.
New
Improved scans
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2008-10-30 — Another Update from Robert McCammon
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
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2008-10-28 — Fan-created cover for Swan Song
- Lauren Vinita has created a book cover for Swan Song that she'd
like to see. You can see her complete cover in the Fan
Art Gallery or by clicking on the image to the right. Thanks, Lauren!
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2008-10-15 — Original artwork for British Boy's Life paperback
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2008-09-26 — French cover art for Le Visage du Mal
- French publisher Bragelonne has published volume 2 of their translation
of Speaks the Nightbird.
Le chant de l'oiseau de nuit, Tome 2: Le Visage du Mal is available now.
The cover artwork, shown on the right, has been added to the Book Cover Gallery. Thanks to Leslie at Bragelonne for
the image!
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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.
Best Wishes,
Robert McCammon
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2008-09-13 — Still waiting and graphic reprint
- We're still waiting for news about Mister Slaughter. As soon as I
have anything to report, I'll post it!
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In 1992, Innovation Books published a comic adaptation of Robert McCammon's
short story "Nightcrawlers" in a series of graphic novels entitled
J.N. Williamson's Masques. In January 2009, Checker Book Publishing
will reprint some of those stories, including "Nightcrawlers," in a
new hardcover edition, also titled J.N. Williamson's Masques. The book
can be pre-ordered
via Amazon.com now. The cover art is pictured at the right.
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2008-08-07 — New L'Heure du Loup paperback artwork
- French publisher Bragelonne, under their Milady imprint, is releasing a new
paperback edition of L'Heure du Loup, a French translation of
The Wolf's Hour. The new cover artwork has been added to the Book Cover
Gallery. Thanks to Leslie at Bragelonne for the image!
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2008-08-01 — New Gone South trade paperback artwork
- The new cover artwork for the upcoming Pocket Books trade paperback edition
of Gone South has been added to the Book Cover
Gallery. This new edition of Gone South includes a brand-new
foreword by Robert McCammon. It is scheduled for publication on October 14,
2008.
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2008-07-16 — New artwork by Troy Palmer
- Troy Palmer has contributed some great new artwork he created that
was inspired by his
recent reading of Robert McCammon's Boy's Life. You can find it on Troy's page in the Fan
Artwork Gallery.
Thanks, Troy!
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2008-07-14 — Several Italian covers added to Gallery
- Several new-to-the-site Italian book covers have been added to the Book Cover Gallery. Thanks to Ernesto Vegetti for the
scans!
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2008-07-12 — Several Spanish covers added to Gallery
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2008-07-10 — New Italian edition of They Thirst
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2008-07-04 — New review of Boy's Life
2008-06-26 — Mister Slaughter has been completed!
- Robert McCammon has completed writing Mister Slaughter, the third
book in the Matthew Corbett series! Since he literally just finished it,
there's no information yet on when it might be published.
2008-06-13 — Game inspiration, Blue World mention
- I've created a Robert
McCammon page at Facebook.com. It's still a work-in-progress, but please
feel free to "become a fan" of the page if you have a Facebook account.
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Game developer Chuck Wendig checked in with a pointer to a page for
the upcoming White Wolf game Hunter: The
Vigil. The teaser page lists some of the game's inspirations, which
include Robert McCammon's Stinger and Swan Song.
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BuddyTV ran an article about actor Steven
Weber joining the cast of the TV show Psych. The article includes
this brief mention:
Meanwhile, Psych isn't the only upcoming acting gig for Webber this year. In
fact, he is currently working on Blue World, a thriller film based on the short
story of Robert McCammon.
2008-06-06 — New review of The Queen of Bedlam
2008-05-01 — French website for Speaks the Nightbird launched
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2008-04-20 — Southern KY Book Fest photos
- My photos from Robert McCammon's signing at the Southern KY Book Fest
in Bowling Green, KY, on April 19, 2008, can be viewed
by clicking here. We had a great
time meeting and talking with everyone!
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2008-04-11 — French translation of Speaks the Nightbird
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2008-03-30 — Grand Master Award
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2008-03-29 — Boy's Life trade paperback cover
- Pocket Books will be reissuing Robert McCammon's Boy's Life in a new
trade paperback edition in July 2008. The edition will include a new foreword
by Robert McCammon. Click on the image to the right to see a larger version of
the new cover.
- Russian fans can win a McCammon book by correctly answering a McCammon quiz
at Victoria Eroshkina's
Russian horror site.
- Robert McCammon will be attending the Southern Kentucky Book Fest in Bowling
Green, KY, on April 19, 2008. In addition to appearing in the signing room, he
will be participating in a panel discussion at 2 PM in Room 5. The panel title
is "Murderous Queens, A Lost Continent, & Swashbuckling Pirates:
Truth & Fiction in History."
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2008-03-20 — Thriller Award nomination!
- Robert McCammon's The Queen of Bedlam has been nominated for the 2008 Thriller
Award in the Best Paperback Original category! The Thriller Awards are given
out by the International Thriller
Writers. Here are all the nominees:
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL 2008
- The Last Nightingale by Anthony Flacco (Ballantine)
- A Thousand Bones by P.J. Parrish (Pocket)
- The Midnight Road by Tom Piccirilli (Bantam)
- The Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon (Pocket)
- Shattered by Jay Bonansinga (Pinnacle)
The winners will be announced this summer at Thrillerfest 2008 at the Grand
Hyatt in New York City during a gala banquet on Saturday, July 12, 2008.
You can read more about the awards on the International
Thriller Writers website. Congratulations to Robert McCammon on the
nomination!
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2008-03-18 — Russian magazine interview with McCammon
- T'ma (Darkness), the Eastern Europe Horror and Dark Fiction
E-zine, recently conducted an interview with Robert McCammon using questions
from Russian fans of McCammon's work. You can read the interview here, as
well as find links to the Russian website hosting the interview and
downloadable magazine.
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2008-03-17 — Great newspaper review of Boy's Life
- The Albertville, AL, newspaper Sand Mountain Reporter ran a
review of Boy's Life in the March 18 issue. The review, titled
"No better read than this 'Boy's Life,'" can be read
on
their website or by clicking
here.
2008-02-27 — Another speed metal band; new German cover
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2008-02-19 — The Rap Sheet article/interview Part 4 is online
- The fourth and final part of Ali Karim's article about Robert McCammon has
been posted on
The Rap Sheet. This part includes a new interview with McCammon.
2008-02-17 — More articles about Blue World, vintage review
2008-02-13 — More trade paperback reissues in 2008, CD reissue
- Pocket Books will be publishing new trade paperback editions of
Boy's Life (July 1, 2008; ISBN 1-4165-7778-5) and Gone South (October 14,
2008; ISBN 1-4165-7779-3).
Boy's Life can be pre-ordered now on
the SimonSays.com
website and on
Amazon.com.
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Phoenix Audio has released an unabridged audio CD of Stalkers: 19 Original
Tales by the Masters of Terror. This anthology includes Robert McCammon's
short story "Lizardman."
The disc can be ordered from Amazon.com
and Barnes & Noble.
(This is a CD reissue of the 1992 Dove Audio cassette release. Despite the
title, it only contains the same 8 stories in that release.)
- The hardcover edition of The Queen of Bedlam is almost sold out, and Pocket Books
does not currently plan to do a second printing of the hardcover. It is no
longer available via SimonSays.com, and retailers are finding that they can
no longer get copies. The Alabama Booksmith still has a handful of signed
copies, and
Amazon.com
still lists the book as being in-stock. If you want the hardcover
edition and haven't bought it yet, you should order it soon....
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A reminder to Italian readers: Robert McCammon's La Via Oscura, an
Italian translation of Mystery Walk, is in stores now from Gargoyle Books!
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2008-02-08 — New McCammon article/review/interview
- A new, 4-part Robert McCammon article/review/interview by Ali Karim has
been started on The
Rap Sheet.
- A new-to-me Dutch cover for MINE has been added to the Book Cover Gallery. Click here or on the image to view a larger
version.
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2008-01-31 — Video from the 1989 World Fantasy Convention
- From the Archives! Way back in 1989, Robert McCammon was the Guest of Honor at the World
Fantasy Convention in Seattle, WA. I've just posted an 11-minute video of
the Q&A part of "An Hour with Robert McCammon" to YouTube in
two parts. Click here to watch the videos, or you can
download an audio-only MP3.
Thanks to Sephera Giron for sending me the videotape back in 1989!
2008-01-25 — Speed metal songs based on McCammon novels
- Speed metal band Engorged based two songs on their 2004 album "Where
Monsters Dwell" on Robert McCammon novels. The songs are
"Stinger," based on Stinger, of course, and "Werewolf
Militia," based on The Wolf's Hour. You can listen to "Stinger" on the
Engorged MySpace page, and you
can read the lyrics here.
- The
Quiet Room is another band whose name was inspired by Usher's Passing. Click
here
to read about how their name came about.
2008-01-24 — Review of Bedlam by Ali Karim
2008-01-23 — News about the Blue World movie
- An update on the Blue World movie from producer Michael Nehs is
expected within the next couple of weeks. A couple of recent website articles
have revealed some information about the shooting schedule, the woman playing
Debbie Stoner, and a recent parterning with another movie company. Click here to read the most recent
information about the movie.
2008-01-08 — New Speaks the Nightbird review
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