October 27, 2016 - 7:20pm by Adam Dravian
It's done!
It's finally fucking done!
After fourteen years, I've finally published my first novel, Grim October.
Not that I've worked on it consistently all that time—that'd be absurd. I finished the first draft in 2009, then every couple years or so, I'd bust it out and give it a revision.
And now it's done and it's published and you should totally click here and buy it. Because it's awesome.
However, it's awesome in a different way than Satan Ninja 198X is awesome. Naturally, it's set in the 1980s (mostly 1989), but it's not an over-the-top comedy homage like SN8X—it's a full-fledged supernatural horror novel. Think Stephen King meets Richard Laymon (if you haven't heard of Laymon, he specialized in fast-paced and brutal-yet-fun horror filled with sex and violence).
So Grim October definitely has a more serious and realistic tone than SN8X, but it's not without humor, and it has some of the other sensibilities you'd expect from me, such as '80s pop-culture references, sexy babes, and brutal violence. And if you're a little wary after reading "young love" on the cover, don't worry. I assure you that this is a far cry from the sort of sappy young adult fiction that involves sparkling vampires.
So what's my book about? Well, I don't want to give much of the plot away, so I'll just say that its about a seventeen-year-old named Derek who moves to a small town in Michigan around Halloween time, and uncovers some kind of supernatural horror.
It's a little bit like Stranger Things, except it focuses on older teens and, if it were a movie, it'd receive a hard-R rating for sex, violence, strong language, and drug use. If I had to compare it to some '80s movies, I'd say it has some similarities to Trick or Treat, River's Edge, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Lost Boys (though it's not about vampires).
Oh, and of course it features awesome illustrations by Jessica Safron. Here's an example:
So now you know why things have been so quiet around here. We've been trying like hell to get this book out during the spooky season. I had planned to release it on October 1st, but I ended up re-writing some of it and Jessica re-worked some of her illustrations. But hey, at least it's made it out just in time for Halloween weekend.
And now that this book is finally done, we can go back to focusing on Satan Ninja 198X. So you can expect more frequent updates.