The BIG News, Part 3 of 3
Meet my doppelgänger (the guy, not the dog):
His name is Michael Laurence and he writes mainstream thrillers. He recently signed a HUGE deal with St. Martin’s Press for a series revolving around an insidious entity known as The Thirteen. The first book, THE EXTINCTION AGENDA, is currently going through the editing process, after which a publication date will be set. It’s slated to be a major release in hardcover with a ton of publisher support, so the editor is taking his time to make sure everything is perfect each and every step along the way. To say the author is overwhelmed would be an understatement.
One could make a case for THE COYOTE being the first Laurence book. CONDEMNED is also fairly similar in style, if you’re wondering what to expect. He’ll write a book a year for St. Martin’s, while I’ll continue publishing the darker stuff you’ve come to expect from me under the McBride banner. Between us, we ought to be beyond busy for the foreseeable future, but that’s a wonderful thing. Not everyone gets a chance to live his dream. He and I both owe a debt of gratitude to all of you, without whom this wouldn’t be possible. Watch for a ton of new work from both of us in the not-so-distant future (see The BIG News, Parts 1 and 2).
And now a little about THE EXTINCTION AGENDA:
While searching for the man who killed his wife, FBI Special Agent James Mason uncovers a shadow organization on the brink of enacting its genocidal agenda and a sinister mass murderer who’s been photographed at the epicenter of every historical pandemic since the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918—without appearing to age.
Mason’s quest for answers takes him from the criminal underbelly of Denver to its untouchable elite, from a dark union at the turn of the last century to a network of Nazi collaborators and a plot for global financial domination. Aided by his longtime friends—a corporate espionage gun-for-hire and a sin merchant of questionable morality—Mason uncovers a conspiracy against mankind more than a century in the making. A conspiracy to unleash a deadly virus and make a killing in the process.
The BIG News, Part 2 of 3
It’s been one of my long-standing goals to be published by Cemetery Dance. I’ve skirted around the periphery with a story in Cemetery Dance Magazine (Issue #37) and contributions to anthologies (OCTOBER DREAMS II and SHOCKLINES), but at long last I can finally announce that my novella EXTANT will be released (in the not-so-distant future) as part of the beautifully illustrated Signature Series. Steven Gilberts, who designed the cover for my collection QUIET, KEEPS TO HIMSELF, has already turned in the cover and interior art and I couldn’t be happier! This promises to be one amazing book! A little about it:
In 524 BCE, Cambyses II, King of Persia, dispatched one of the most ferocious armies the world has ever known to destroy the Oracle of Amun. 50,000 soldiers marched into the Egyptian desert from Luxor and vanished into a sandstorm. No trace of them was ever found.
Until now.
A team of archeologists discovers an ancient oasis buried beneath the barren sands. Subsequent excavation reveals hastily evacuated ruins filled with the signs of a great struggle. Their exploration leads to the tomb where the lost army made its final stand against an unknown enemy, one that has somehow survived and can move unseen beneath the dunes, a species that is anything but extinct.
But, wait, there’s more!
My novelette THE DEVIL’S DUE will appear in HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL #3, along with stories by Kelley Armstrong, Kate Maruyama, Taylor Grant, and Greg Chapman. Random House/Hydra is releasing five separate eBooks, which will later be collected in one doorstop of a hardcover by Cemetery Dance. It’ll be my first time sharing a cover with Peter Straub, Robert McCammon, and Richard Chizmar, and a killer reunion with Norman Prentiss, Kealan Patrick Burke, and Lee Thomas.
Oh, yeah…we got a puppy.
More news coming soon…
The BIG News, Part 1 of 3
Thanks to the success of SUBTERRESTRIAL and those of you who helped make it a smash hit, I was contacted by an editor (who my agent called a “legend” in the business) at Kensington Books. He made me an amazing offer for two books to be released under the Pinnacle imprint, which means they’ll be available everywhere books are sold. Better yet, they’ll be the lead titles during the months of their release, so they ought to be really visible.
The first book is called SUBHUMAN and it’s slated for release on Halloween 2017. It’s the first in the UNIT 51 series, which involves a team of scientists who investigate strange happenings around the world. It’ll be available in mass market paperback, eBook, and audio wherever books are sold. (Unfortunately, there won’t be a hardcover limited edition of the book, but I’d be happy to arrange to sign the paperback for anyone interested.) The second book, GODFORSAKEN, is scheduled for release in May, 2018. I’m already neck deep in Book #3, so hopefully the contract will be extended.
So, if you’ve been wondering why I dropped off the face of the planet for the last year, there’s at least part one of your answer: writing two complete novels for Kensington. Stay tuned for future parts, but in the meantime, here’s a little about SUBHUMAN, which is available for preorder HERE.
THEY ARE NOT HUMAN.
At a research station in Antarctica, five of the world’s top scientists have been brought together to solve one of the greatest mysteries in human history. Their subject, however, is anything but human . . .
THEY ARE NOT NATURAL.
Deep beneath the ice, the submerged ruins of a lost civilization hold the key to the strange mutations that each scientist has encountered across the globe: A misshapen skull in Russia. The grotesque carvings of a lost race in Peru. The mummified remains of a humanoid monstrosity in Egypt . . .
THEY ARE NOT FRIENDLY.
When a series of sound waves trigger the ancient organisms, a new kind of evolution begins. Latching onto a human host—crossbreeding with human DNA—a long-extinct life form is reborn. Its kind has not walked the earth for thousands of years. Its instincts are fiercer, more savage, than any predator alive. And its prey are the scientists who unleashed it, the humans who spawned it, and the tender living flesh on which it feeds . . .
My Apologies
Hey, there! Long time, no see. It’s my fault. I’m a terrible person. You have my most heartfelt apologies. There’s a good reason for my absence, though. We’re talking earth-shattering news on numerous fronts. I kid you not. Top of the world, ma. Unfortunately, I have to make you wait a little longer before I can share it all, but to show you I’m not a total jerk, how about some pictures?
Below you’ll find the complete McLibrary (in something kind of resembling alphabetical order), a shot of my workspace, and the research cubby for my works-in-progress.
Thanks for sticking with me. I promise I won’t leave you so long next time.
Cover Reveal
Heck, yeah! Thanks to Zach McCain and Shane Staley for another killer cover. This one fits the book perfectly!
Here’s a little about it:
Four teenagers awaken in a scorched cornfield with no memory of how they got there. All they know is that there were five of them when they found the carcass of the mutilated cow.
Forty years later, Eric Devlin sends a cryptic email to the other three survivors: I remember everything.
Karl Doering has spent the majority of his life trying to understand what happened that night and learn the fate of his missing friend. He responds to the mysterious message and finds that Eric has killed himself in a decrepit barn, behind which is a cornfield filled with mutilated cattle.
When a local girl goes missing, Karl realizes that he and the other two survivors are her only hope. To find her they must confront repressed memories so traumatic they’d driven Eric to take his own life…and creatures straight out of their worst nightmares.
Release Day!
At long last, SUBTERRESTRIAL is available! I consider this one the spiritual successor to BURIAL GROUND and hope you enjoy the heck out of it!
Thanks to all who’ve preordered the book. You’re the absolute greatest!
For those of you waiting for the limited-edition hardcover, it’s looking like Spring ’16.
SUBTERRESTRIAL!
Those of you who voted for SUBTERRESTRIAL during its Kindle Scout campaign should have already received the link to download your free copy. Thank you sincerely for your support! I hope you love it!
The book is now available for preorder RIGHT HERE! If you order now, it will automatically be delivered to your Kindle on 12/29.
Here’s a little about the book:
An accident during the construction of a tunnel under the Bering Sea leads to the discovery of evidence that hints at the survival of an unknown protohuman species. A team of experts is dispatched into the caverns in hopes of finding the primates before the unstable strata causes their extinction. Something else lurks in the darkness, though…a creature that’s evolved into a predator unlike any the world has ever known, and it’s up to the scientists to make sure that it never reaches the surface.
And the revised cover:
Kindle Scout
Thank you to everyone who voted for SUBTERRESTRIAL during its Kindle Scout campaign. Thanks to you, Kindle Press has chosen to publish the book, which means that those of you who voted will receive a free copy of the eBook prior to publication. I owe you all a tremendous debt of gratitude. Thank you sincerely, from the bottom of my cold, black heart. I hope SUBTERRESTRIAL kicks your asses!
SNOWBLIND II: THE KILLING GROUNDS Now Available!
I’m proud to announce that the eBook version of SNOWBLIND II: THE KILLING GROUNDS is now available for download at Amazon. Those of you waiting for the limited-edition hardcover won’t have to wait much longer. I hope you all enjoy a return to the Colorado wilderness and a certain house where you don’t want to add your name to the guest register.
