Recorded Books has produced an unabridged audio recording of Robert McCammon’s latest novel, The Five.  The book is read by Nick Landrum.

The audiobook is available now as an MP3 download from Audible.  It’s also available in CD format from Recorded Books. (Just a note: the CD version is not cheap, as it consists of 17 CDs.)

Click the Play button below to listen to an excerpt from The Five.

[audio:https://www.robertmccammon.com/audio/the-five-audiobook-sample.mp3]

Robert McCammon @ Audible

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

 

Some more Robert McCammon releases and reviews from around the ‘net:

From Subterranean Press:

The Five by Robert McCammon.jpg

It’s been out for a while now, both as a hardcover and ebook, but Robert McCammon’s remarkable rock and roll epic, The Five, continues to draw praise. From Locus: “The Five is Robert R. McCammon’s first novel outside of his recent series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett since Gone South. Do the math and that’s almost 20 years. It’s a nicely nostalgic return to form for a writer who was one of the most highly regarded novelists during horror’s boom years, and it will put readers familiar with his work very much in mind of earlier novels from that time, including Mine and Boy’s Life; its fantastic element is more suggested than evident, and it eschews the darker possibilities of its theme for an upbeat appraisal of the human spirit’s capacity to rise above adversity.”

The Five

Trade: Fully cloth bound hardcover edition: $26.95

Buy Now

Before we go, an important note about Rick’s new Michael Gallatin collection, Hunter from the Woods: As we expected, Hunter is pre-selling very well. So well, in fact, that we won’t be able to fill orders for large online retail and wholesale accounts. If you’d like a copy, a direct order is your best bet.

Hunter from the Woods

Limited: 1000 signed numbered hardcover copies: $75

Buy Now

My Favorite Poem Sixth Annual Literary Event with TV host Mike Royer

My Favorite Poem Sixth Annual Literary Event with TV host Mike Royer Image gallery

Presented by Alabama School of Fine Arts at Alabama School of Fine Arts

September 23, 2011

Lovers of poetry gather to hear a representative group of 15 citizens recite their favorite poems from childhood.Sponsored by the Birmingham Arts Journal and the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Hosted by TV personality Mike Royer. Alabama School of Fine Arts in Historic Downtown Birmingham, Alabama.

Click here for more details

AMONG THE POETRY GUESTS:


Actress JAN HUNTER
Author ROBERT MCCAMMON
and
Jesse Bates
Steve Edmondson
Linda Newby Stephan
Margaret Stefanson
Kelsey Bates
Scott Downs
Danielle Eggers
Peter Kirchikov
Judith Norwood
Rod Major
Joe Whitten

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.

WARNING!!  SPOILERS FOR THE FIVE BELOW!!!!!

 

 

Hi, guys! Hope all is well and your summer has been good.

I’ve been getting some interesting reviews and comments about The Five. Thanks to everyone who’s bought the book and read it, and thank you for voicing your thoughts.

I see many, if not most, reviews compare The Five to MINE and say that it is a crime/thriller without any supernatural content.

Students, consider these questions…

  1. Who is Gunny?
  2. Why did Gunny suddenly appear when Jeremy has finally decided to commit suicide?
  3. Do you think there’s any reason that Jeremy’s last name is “Pett”?
  4. How do you think the video was manipulated?
  5. Who was the girl at the well?
  6. Any symbolism in the crows circling the field?
  7. What was the thing that George has seen in the hospital room? The black “origami”?
  8. What is the reason the story of Stone Church is in the book? There is one. A BIG reason.
  9. Why is it that Jeremy wants to give up the “hunt” at some point and Gunny brings him back on track?
  10. What is the meaning of Ariel’s dream of the figure in the field belching out crows?
  11. What is Connor Addison’s role? Why was he there to shoot one of the band members?
  12. What is DJ Talk It Up’s role? Why is he there to…you know what.
  13. What is the meaning of the rock opera that Eric Gherosimini is writing? It’s called “Ground Zero”. And…crucial here…Gherosimini says it’s about “the war”. What war is he talking about?
  14. Let’s speculate and say that Gunny is a demonic figure who wants to use Jeremy to stop THE FIVE from writing the song. Why? What’s in the song that merits that sort of attention? The clue here is who the song speaks to.
  15. Consider True’s thoughts about Stone Church, and how the reappearance of those people—those souls stolen by Hell—would change the theological balance of the world. Consider that Jeremy knows he is bound to Hell for what he has done. But…maybe a Marine with a family to get back to, much like the situation in his favorite movie Gladiator, is enough to make him find those lost souls, and say to them…”Follow me” to a way back to the world?
  16. And consider who the song goes to. I will tell you that the girl at the well is an angel in human form. Remember that she was the last to take a drink of water, after serving everyone else. Remember that the girl to whom the song means so much was nearly the last one into the club, and she almost sacrificed her place in by helping someone else get in before her. She is, indeed, on her way to becoming an angelic figure…to use her music for the power of good…and THAT is why Gunny the demonic figure wanted to stop the song from being written and reaching her.

Cheers!

Robert McCammon

 

Zombies! x 3Robert McCammon’s zombie tale “Eat Me” is proving popular in these days of zombie madness. A couple of years ago, it was reprinted in the John Skipp-edited Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead.  Now the story is about to be reprinted in the anthology Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!  This collection is edited by Otto Penzler and also includes stories by Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, Robert E. Howard, and many more.  You can pre-order the book from Amazon; it will be released on September 13, 2011, by Vintage Crime.

“Eat Me” was originally published in the 1989 anthology Book of the Dead. It can be read for free here.