A Bad Day For Voodoo by Jeff Strand

It is pretty obvious that my love for Jeff Strand is almost as frightening as the tales that occupy the pages of his fantastic books but even I, the devoted fanboy, was a little skeptical when I heard that the author of Wolf Hunt and Dweller was about to pen a Young Adult novel. Of course, (as with most things in life) I was completely off-base as Strand delivers and instant genre classic.

From Amazon :

When your best friend is just a tiny bit psychotic, you should never actually believe him when he says, "Trust me. This is gonna be awesome."

Of course, you probably wouldn't believe a voodoo doll could work either. Or that it could cause someone's leg to blow clean off with one quick prick.

But I've seen it. It can happen. And when there's suddenly a doll of YOU floating around out there—a doll that could be snatched by a Rottweiler and torn to shreds, or a gang of thugs ready to torch it, or any random family of cannibals (really, do you need the danger here spelled out for you?)—well, you know that's just gonna be a really bad day ...

The Young Adult genre suits Strand’s insane style perfectly. In A Bad Day For Voodoo , Strand uses the genre’s whimsical freedom to create a crazed tale of silliness gone wrong that will satisfy teens and horror-hounds alike. Strand balances the real life turmoil of being a 16-year-old boy with his signature flair for the gleefully macabre. Dismemberment and cannibals seem just as frightening as overbearing parents. Such is the teenage life in the wild world of Strand. The only reason all of this craziness is because the main characters are so grounded in reality. I felt like I had been transformed back to my teenage years and it was one heck of a ride. The story oozes with the authenticity usually reserved for a Stephen King story or a John Hughes film. It is that good, my friends.

Jeff Strand walks a very fine line in A Bad Day For Voodoo (and most of his stories, really). He keeps the tone extremely light without ever venturing in the dreaded world of camp, while providing massive amounts of unique (albeit gory) plot points that keep the reader interested and the pages turning. I have seen this blend attempted many times with cringe-worthy results but this never happens with Strand. I would say that Strand is the preeminent voice of literary horror-comedy but he may, in fact, be the only worthy author currently taking up residency in that particular subgenre. A Bad Day For Voodoo just goes to prove that Strand can extend his talents to any subgenre within the realm of Horror literature.

If you have or know someone with children in their teens, please make sure that those kids get a copy of this book in their hands. If you are looking for some finely crafted fiction that is so unique that it is sure to blow your mind, you should also make sure this finds its way into your library.

Wolf Hunt by Jeff Strand

I love Jeff Strand’s style. He can leave you cowering in the corner in terror or have you rolling on the floor in a bout of unbridled laughter (and at his best, he can have you doing both at the same time). There are a few authors who can craft a deeply frightening tale. There are a few authors that are able to tell a genuinely humorous story. There is only one author who can do both. That guy is Jeff Strand and Wolf Hunt may be the perfect balance between the laughs and the gore.

 

Two thugs. One innocent woman. And one VICIOUS frickin' werewolf.

Meet George and Lou, thugs for hire. The kind of intimidating-yet-friendly guys who will break your thumbs, but be polite about it.

Their latest assignment is to drive across Florida to deliver some precious cargo to a crime lord. The cargo: a man in a cage. Though Ivan seems perfectly human, they’re warned that he is, in fact, a bloodthirsty werewolf.

George and Lou don’t believe in the supernatural, but even if they did, it’s daytime and tonight isn’t the full moon. Their instructions are straightforward: Do not open the cage. Do not reach into the cage. Do not throw anything into the cage. And they don't.

Unfortunately, Ivan doesn’t play by the usual werewolf rules, and the thugs find themselves suddenly responsible for a ferocious escaped beast. One who can transform at will. One who enjoys killing in human form as much as he enjoys killing as a monster.

If George and Lou want to save their careers, dozens of people, and their own lives, they need to recapture him. Because Ivan the werewolf is in the mood for a murder spree…

Wolf Hunt is set at a break-neck pace that will have you turning page after bloody page. Strand packs an unbelievable amount of action into the 336 pages. Grenades, dismemberment, crazed house pets, silver arrows- Wolf Hunt has it all! Honestly, I think this may have been the fastest 300+ page read I’ve ever encountered.

Despite all of that blood soaked action, Strand’s dialogue is the real star of the show. I am amazed at his ability to consistently write truly inspired and humorous dialogue.  George and Lou create some insanely memorable banter that will leave you laughing out loud. The dialogue reads like a Kevin Smith film- the pacing and comedic timing were nothing short of perfection. In fact, there were more than a few times that I imagined George and Lou as the hapless loafers, Dante and Randal, from Smith’s ever-popular Clerks.  Sure they are hired thugs but their personalities are so strong and clearly defined that the reader cannot help but love them. 

Wolf Hunt is so much more that a werewolf story.  It is an absolute riot but it also has quite a bit of heart.  There are some truly gut wrenching scenarios that will leave you completely floored. This book will appeal to all fans of dark fiction regardless of which way your tastes lean. Believe me when I say there is something here for everyone. Wolf Hunt is a true genre masterpiece and only helps cement Strand’s status as one of the new masters of horror fiction. You would be doing yourself an unforgivable disservice by not checking this one out.

Wolf Hunt can be picked up in digital form for the ultra low price of $2.99 over at Amazon . You can also head over to Jeff’s site to bone up on all things Strand.

Laymon Month: Guest Post by Jeff Strand

I first discovered Richard Laymon in FANGORIA, where he said "I think horror should be fun!" The article really made me want to read his work, so I turned on my Kindle...I mean, I went to eBay...no, wait, actually I searched bookstores, new and used, and couldn't find a damn thing by him. This was the 80's. I was pretty much screwed.


A couple of years later, I was browsing the horror section, and, hey, a book by that Richard Laymon guy! FUNLAND! I bought it, read it immediately, and though it's far from my favorite book of his, I was an instant fan.


From 1989 to 1995, I continually sought out his books. There were a few lucky used bookstore finds: TREAD SOFTLY, NIGHT SHOW, and RESURRECTION DREAMS. A couple of library finds: QUAKE, MIDNIGHT'S LAIR, and THE STAKE. A friend in college had BEWARE, THE CELLAR, and THE WOODS ARE DARK.


In the age of Amazon and Wikipedia, it's hard to even remember a time when you could be a huge fan of somebody's work and not really know what was available. (Much like when I first became obsessed with Alice Cooper--each CD or cassette I found was a surprising, wonderful new discovery!) But I really had no idea what was out there, Laymon-wise.


Then: the Internet. One of the very first sites I visited was Steve Gerlach's Richard Laymon Kills site, and--holy crap!!!--Laymon had published tons of books that I'd never even heard of! DARKNESS, TELL US! BODY RIDES! ISLAND! BLOOD GAMES! BITE! IN THE DARK! ONE RAINY NIGHT! And more!


I found a UK bookseller online, and with about two minutes of effort I suddenly went from having about a third of Laymon's books to having almost all of them. And I read them all, back to back. (Is that good for your brain? Probably not.) I was like a kid gobbling up his entire bag of Halloween candy, and I hadn't experienced this much joyous reading since my discoveries of King, Koontz, and McCammon.


(Okay, I didn't like ALLHALLOW'S EVE that much. But aside from that...)


And now, since nobody said "Your Laymon essay must have structure!" here are a few unconnected Laymon thoughts:


Laymon saved me at several conventions, because despite not having any particular fondness for vampires, I always seemed to get stuck on a vampire panel. Instead of admitting to the audience and other panelists that I really didn't know what the hell I was talking about, I'd talk about how Laymon did three vampire novels (THE STAKE, BITE, and THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW) that weren't really about vampires! THE STAKE in particular just flat-out shouldn't work. How do you do an entire novel (and a fairly long one) that's all about "Should we pull this stake out of the mummified vampire corpse?" Most people could barely get a short story out of the premise, yet this book is never less than gripping.


SAVAGE is one of my favorites. Skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read it, but if you have: am I the only one who was completely stunned by the cruelty of the ending? Our hero, Trevor, and his new girlfriend, on their way to confront Jack the Ripper, do a complete wuss-out and decide NOT to face him. Shortly afterward, we find out that his old girlfriend (who we assumed had moved on with a new guy) went after the Ripper the way they'd planned, and dies horribly. Trevor imagines that while she was being tortured to death, she held out hope that he was on his way. Ouch.


IN THE DARK is another one of my favorites. And, yes, I've seen the never-released movie version. Muahahahahaha!!!


I remember telling a friend about ALARUMS and (spoiler warning again!) being unable to convey why the book was so good. "There was never anybody stalking her. Nobody had actually stolen her panties--she didn't realize she was wearing them." "That sounds lame." "No, no, the book completely messes with your expectations, because you think it's about a stalker, but it's actually about the sister going crazy." "Lame." "Argh!"


Rump.


If I may end on a rant, the very first limited edition book I ever bought was Laymon's A WRITER'S TALE. I ordered it the second I heard about it, and got copy #8. Read it. Loved it. Read it again and again. Then there was an online discussion with a bunch of writer's bemoaning the fact that this classic non-fiction book was completely unavailable.


This book was too good not to share. I set up a "lending circle" where I'd send it to the first person, who would send it to the next person, and so on until everybody got to read it. Yeah, obviously my copy would get banged up, and I could be without it for years (there were a lot of people on the list) but everybody should get the chance to read A WRITER'S TALE!


And...it didn't even make it to the third person before it went missing in action. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! (So if you ever see copy #8, it's MINE!)


That's enough from me. Enjoy Laymon month!

Jeff Strand is the author of DWELLER, which just so happens to be the best book I have read in the last five years. It also happens to be nominated for a Stoker award this year.

Jeff recently released two fantastic novels in ebook form- THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE and WOLF HUNT are on sale right now for $2.99!!!!! I promise you won't be dissapointed.

Head over to jeffstrand.wordpress.com for all things Strand.

Dweller by Jeff Strand

When looking back on my life I can pinpoint some pretty important literary moments that changed the way I looked at the whole process of reading. I can clearly trace my development as a reader through titles like It, The Silence of the Lambs, Swan Song and Boy’s Life. I remember the magic associated with all of those experiences and recently, I became painfully aware that it had been years since I last felt “changed” by a novel. Well, that all changed as I read the final page of Dweller.

At its simplest Dweller tells the story of an outcast who finds comfort and companionship in a large jawed, razor clawed monster that resides in a cave in the woods. It has elements of pure horror and dark humor but what really sets the novel apart is the sheer innocence involved. I guess its tough to imagine a story that handles murder, alcoholism, and isolation being terribly innocent but (like all good fairy tales) it takes the macabre and reevaluates it through the eyes of a child. When I read Strand I am reminded of those early King novels where he was able to channel youth and childhood in such an authentic way. The main difference between a book like It and Dweller is that King is able to describe the children while Strand makes you FEEL like a child.

I have been talking to everyone I know about this book and the description does it no justice. I’ll talk about how it traces the life of a boy and his best friend (who happens to be a forest dwelling monster) or how the story can be dark and funny at the same time. Of course, none of my descriptions do any justice to the masterpiece that Strand has created. The magic lies in Strands writing. He weaves words together in such a way that your brain begins thinking like a child again. This makes such a fantastic story so believable. For a few hours Jeff Strand successfully made this jaded 30-year-old feel like a child again and that is quite an accomplishment.


Do yourself a huge favor and pick it up here and head on over to Jeff's site for some good ol' belly laughs.