Category: Matthew Corbett

From Subterranean Press:

 

This is our big one for 2012. Robert McCammon’s latest Matthew Corbett historical thriller, The Providence Rider.

For the first time in the Corbett novels, the signed, limited hardcover will feature a long additional story about Matthew, one that cannot be reprinted for two years following its debut in our edition. We’ll also have signed copies of the trade hardcover available, though not nearly so many as we did for his last novel, The Five.

Here are the full details:

The Providence Rider is the fourth standalone installment in the extraordinary series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett, professional problem solver. The narrative begins in the winter of 1703, with Matthew still haunted by his lethal encounter with notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter. When an unexplained series of explosions rocks his Manhattan neighborhood, Matthew finds himself forced to confront a new and unexpected problem. Someone is trying-and trying very hard-to get his attention. That someone is a shadowy figure from out of Matthew’s past: the elusive Professor Fell. The professor, it turns out, has a problem of his own, one that requires the exclusive services of Matthew Corbett.

The ensuing narrative moves swiftly and gracefully from the emerging metropolis of New York City to Pendulum Island in the remote Bermudas. In the course of his journey, Matthew encounters a truly Dickensian assortment of memorable, often grotesque, antagonists. These include Sirki, the giant, deceptively soft-spoken East Indian killer, Dr. Jonathan Gentry, an expert in exotic potions with a substance abuse problem of his own, the beautiful but murderous Aria Chillany, and, of course, the master manipulator and “Emperor of Crime” on two continents, Professor Fell himself. The result is both an exquisitely constructed novel of suspense and a meticulous recreation of a bygone era.

This signed, limited edition of this generous volume also contains a new, utterly compelling Matthew Corbett adventure, “Death Comes for the Rich Man.” This 11,500-word novella, which has never before been published and will not be reprinted anywhere else for at least two years, takes place between the events of Mister Slaughter and The Providence Rider. In the course of this startling tale, Matthew is approached by a wealthy, dying man with an urgent, if impossible, request: to keep Death itself at bay. Filled with danger, mystery, and an almost tangible sense of place, these superbly crafted narratives represent Robert McCammon at his best and historical fiction at its finest and most developed.

Important note: We had a great time hosting Rick McCammon here at the SubPress warehouse, where he signed the better part of 2000 copies of The Five. For The Providence Rider, we wanted to make signed copies available to his fans once again, but make it a bit easier on Rick, both travel- and wrist-wise. There will only be 1000 signed (uninscribed) trade copies of The Providence Rider available. Please get your order in early if you’d like to snag one.

Lettered: 26 signed, deluxe bound copies, housed in a custom traycase
Limited: 474 signed numbered copies, bound in leather, with the bonus novella, artwork not in the trade hardcover, and bound in a custom slipcase
Trade (unsigned): Fully cloth bound hardcover copies
Trade (signed): Fully cloth bound hardcover copies, signed by the author

Hi, everyone! Summer has passed, the chill has begun here in the South, the leaves are falling…must be autumn, and maybe time to talk a little bit about where I am and my future projects before the onslaught of winter.

I got back not long ago from the Surrey International Writer’s Conference, held in Surrey, British Columbia, toward the end of October every year. This was my third visit. One of the great pleasures this conference gives me is ‘teaching’ or really rather ‘guiding’ a couple of seminars. The ones I did this year were on the importance and power of names and how to write accents in dialogue. Very much fun. Got to see a lot of old friends and make some new ones. The conference is really worthwhile, because beginning writers get to sit across a table from more established writers at what are called “Blue Pencil” sessions, to show three or four pages of a manuscript and get immediate feedback on their work. So…a little scary for both people involved in that exchange, but again…very rewarding.

I would suggest that if you’re at all interested in learning more about the art and craft of writing, you seriously consider attending the Surrey International Writer’s Conference in October of 2012. I can guarantee you will enjoy it AND take something valuable away with you. Plus Surrey is not very far from Vancouver, which in itself is worth a few extra days. A most beautiful area in a great country.

The website you should take a look at, if you’re interested in this, is http://www.siwc.ca/.

On to other things…

Yes, autumn has arrived and that means intense worktime for me. Before I talk about what I’m working on next, let me say that The Hunter from the Woods is nearing publication and also the fourth Matthew Corbett adventure, The Providence Rider, will be released in (I think) March. I’ll tell you that in this one we leave New York for a while to visit a mysterious island in the Bermudas, and that Matthew comes face-to-face (?) with Professor Fell.

A note also on the title. I have a book that lists all the inhabitants of New York during the timeframe I’m writing about. Some of the names of the townspeople I use are real. So I’m looking through the names and one jumps out at me…Providence Ryder. Is that a great name, or what???

Anyway, that name started my thought process. And the book came out of that, of course. So that kinda goes back to my seminar on the importance and power of names at the Surrey conference, huh?

Speaking of names…let’s touch on Michael Gallatin for a minute. I am so proud and excited about the imminent publication of The Hunter from the Woods. It goes back and forth in time from the Wolf’s Hour period to document several episodes in Michael’s life. It hopefully adds to the character and also answers a few questions that some have posed to me over the years. Does it raise more questions? Of course! I wouldn’t be worth much as a writer if I didn’t leave the “soulcage” open for more of Michael’s adventures. So I have…and we’ll see what the future holds there.

Ah, yes. The future.

I am entering a period where I’ll be writing about the future, as opposed to the era of World War II and of course Matthew’s colonial era. Next up for me is a novella I’m doing for Sub Press, entitled Lawson. It’s set about seventy-something years in the future (though I never say the exact year) and involves a mercenary assassin in a megacity in a world run by corporations. The corporations are always at some level of warfare with each other, thus the need for men like Lawson who will go anywhere and kill any man, woman or child for a few extra “credits”. Lawson’s only friend and companion is his sex-doll robot, and he really doesn’t have much reason to live. Until…he meets the target of his next mission…

Lot more to Lawson, and to Lawson, than I’m telling, naturally. This will have a lot of action in it and I think will emphasize a new, more spare writing style I’m trying to develop. Do not fear…this “new” style will not affect the Matthew books…

Okay…onward to my next “big” project.

Many reviewers of The Five have mentioned that the supernatural element is very low-key and muted. That was done on purpose, to make the human element stronger. I recall I was telling someone I could always have gone the route of having a scene where a guitar comes to evil life and wraps around the player’s throat like a python. I was kidding, but this person’s eyes got huge with delight.

No, no, and no! The Five was not meant to be a special-effects showcase. It was a solid story, and I wanted to keep the book grounded in reality while having a supernatural undertone. But the next big project will be a Hell-On-Wheels extravaganza (I hope!!!).

Next up is a science-fiction/horror novel with a huge scope and I am planning to go over the top with this one. Tastefully, of course! But yes, it’ll have some scenes that I hope will both terrify and haunt and creep-out and resonate and all that good stuff. I may have mentioned the title before. I won’t mention it again, though…just let it sit, and trust that this will be worth the wait. Actually, I’m hoping to finish it up around April/May.

Other things…for all five or six of you who seem to enjoy them, I’m going back to doing Radio 678 shows. Why, you ask? Why should I be doing radio shows when I should be writing? Because I like doing them and I get to use some of my special-effects music equipment. So there you go…Radio 678 is fun for me, so that’s the bottom line.

I will offer you this: the next Matthew Corbett book after Providence Rider will be titled The River of Souls and is set in the Carolina colony. I think it will be two books in one, in a way, with the ideas coming together to form a single story…sort of like streams merging to form a river, yes? So I’ll be working on that when I finish the sci-fi/horror tome.

I get a lot of this: that people think I am a slow writer. Guys! It’s always been the publisher who’s been slow. I’ve always had things sitting on the shelf waiting for publication, or things in the pipeline. I think it’s because I do so many “different” things…I don’t know. But I can tell you that I am working full-speed ahead now, so when I hear somebody say I’m a slow writer…well…let’s just say I try to be “exact” in what I want to say, but usually the projects are stacked up and ready to go.

Okay…this autumn’s tale is nearly concluded. This is where I am and where I’m going. As always, I am pleased and honored to have you along for the ride. I have years of good stuff ahead…can hardly wait to get at some of the ideas, but everything has to “cook” at its own time and temperature.

And speaking of temperature…it’s cold outside. Light the fire and pull up the blanket, get something tasty to drink and lose yourself in an engrossing and involving book…there’s nothing better!

Cheers!

Robert McCammon

 

Several updates from the past couple of weeks:

  • Japanese illustrator Kazuki Tamada has contributed another piece of artwork inspired by The Wolf’s Hour. You can view a larger version of his art, as well as see his other illustrations, by clicking on the image or here.
  • Publishers Weekly has posted a great review of the Subterranean Press edition of Robert McCammon’s first novel, Baal. You can read it on the PW site.
  • Robert McCammon recently finished signing the tip-in sheets for The Hunter from the Woods, which Subterranean Press is about to send to the printer for its November publication.
  • Mel Odom posted a superb review of The Five on his Bookhound blog.
  • A post about the Matthew Corbett series was posted over on Wisdom of Bookmonkey.
  • Author Laraine Herring posted one reason that Boy’s Life is so effective.
  • A fantastic new review of Boy’s Life was posted on Right2Left.

Stay tuned for some exciting news about Robert McCammon ebooks!

From Subterranean Press:

We have a few great bits of Robert McCammon news to share with you today.

  • We’ve just reached agreement to publish his next Matthew Corbett novel, The Providence Rider. As the novel opens, Matthew is a problem-solver having difficulty negotiating the consequences of his encounter with Mister Slaughter. Readers are going to be thrilled at the Dickensian cast of grotesques and characters in The Providence Rider, from stout friend Hudson Greathouse, to the ever in shadows Professor Fell, to new characters such as Mother Deare, Madame Chillany, the Thacker Brothers, and the turbaned, deadly, Sirki. Perhaps best of all, the signed limited and lettered editions will feature a story from Matthew Corbett’s world available nowhere else. Sign up for our newsletter for more details, due soon.
  • After a bit of delay, the signed limited edition of The Five is in stock and shipping, with the lettered edition due soon. Thanks to everyone for their patience, while we sorted out some difficulties with the slipcases. The limited edition may be sold out, but you can still pick up a signed copy of the first trade hardcover.
  • We’re in the homestretch on The Hunter from the Woods, McCammon’s new collection of linked stories and novellas that features Michael Gallatin, the lycanthropic hero of his classic novel, The Wolf’s Hour. Be sure to check out the long novella from the collection, “The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs”, available on Hunter’s page.
  • All of the work is done on the classic novel, Baal, virtually unobtainable in hardcover at a reasonable price, until now. Our edition of Rick’s first novel is just waiting its place in our production queue.
  • If you didn’t listen to the latest installment of Psycho 60s, then you missed the announcement that Robert McCammon has completed The Hunter from the Woods, the collection of stories and novellas featuring Michael Gallatin, the main character from The Wolf’s Hour. Mr. McCammon reads a few paragraphs from the opening of that book at the end of podcast #4. 
  • Just when I think I know about all of the international editions of Robert McCammon’s novels, I find new ones. I just discovered that MINE, Stinger, and Mystery Walk were published in Bulgaria in the 1990s. Thanks to a Bulgarian reader who posted scans of the covers on a Bulgarian message board, I’ve added these books to the Book Cover Gallery. The Mystery Walk cover is most interesting, as they took the cover of the Pocket Books edition of They Thirst and replaced the vampire…. 

     

  • A friend of mine in Russia recently sent me the new Russian editions of Speaks the Nightbird and The Queen of Bedlam with their matching-theme covers. The covers have appeared in the gallery before, but larger scans showing more detail are now available. 

     

  • Here are some recent blog reviews of Robert McCammon’s work: 
    • Terri Rodabaugh posted a great blog about Boy’s Life 
    • Brian’s Book Reviews posted a review of Swan Song 

      “Swan Song is McCammon at his best and I rank it among the finest novels Ive ever read by any author.”

       

    • Rick Kleffel posted a fun blog about reading The Wolf’s Hour when it was first published 
    • Men Reading Books posted a fantastic review of Mister Slaughter 

      “I find McCammon’s work to be literary works of art. His writing style is the embodiment of an ‘achievement’ in modern literature and it is beyond my understanding why his work doesn’t get more widespread praise and readership.”

       

    • Horror Fiction Reviews also posted a great review of Mister Slaughter 

      “The author’s superb skill and craftsmanship is evident on every page, in snippets of description, in dialogue, in clever turns of phrase. McCammon does with language what every writer should aspire to do he enjoys it, he savors it, he has FUN with it—and he tells a damn good story at the same time.”