I’ve got a new message board at the Keenedom.
Stop by and say hi.
http://www.briankeene.com/forum
Coming in 2011
Posted in Bizarro Authors, Bizarro Books on January 19, 2011 by carltonmellick
This year I’ve got quite a few new books coming out, as well as many re-issues of older books.
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Coming in Winter/Spring 2011:
WAR SLUT
This is a first of many older books to be re-issued with new cover art, as well as some minor editing work.
CRAB TOWN
A bizarro bank heist novella.
THE MORBIDLY OBESE NINJA
My second short story collection, finally coming out after a decade. The title novella is about a cyberpunk ninja that is 700 pounds of pure badassery.
BARBARIAN BEAST BITCHES OF THE BADLANDS
A collection of three novellas that take place before, after, and during the events of Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland
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In the works:
SEVEN CYBORGS
A bizarro retelling of Seven Samurai, in outer space.
THE HANDSOME SQUIRM
A pregnant demon arrives at the door of a young man’s house. It turns out that she is a succubus who visited him in his sleep nine months ago. She says he’s the father of her child and wants to move in with him, get married, and raise the kid together. The problem is, he is already in love with another woman and has no intention of marrying this demon. But once her father, Satan himself, comes into the picture he realizes it’s not going to be so easy to get out of his responsibilities. Basically, this book will be kind of a fucked up version of a romantic comedy.
THE SUPER EVILS
Captain Explode-O wants more than anything to be the greatest superhero on Earth. Unfortunately, his super power is the ability to make babies explode. Captain Explode-O tries to use his powers for good, but once he explodes three babies in order to prevent a convenience store robbery he inadvertently becomes the nation’s most hated super villain. Depressed and riddled with guilt, he vows never to use his powers ever again…but he might not have a choice once The Super Evils — the most evil league of super villains this side of the planet — try to recruit him as their new leader.
There might be more books coming out in 2011, but we’ll have to wait and see. Sometimes I’ll drop everything to write something new.
Coming Soon: “Crab Town”
Posted in Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction on January 18, 2011 by carltonmellick
Next month, my new novella “Crab Town” will be released. This is my first 100-page novella to be published since Ultra Fuckers. Basically it is a bizarro bank heist story set in a dystopian post-nuke city. Featuring: radiation fetishists, balloon people, monster crabs, sail-bike road warriors, and a love affair between a woman and an H-Bomb.
Cover art for “Barbarian Beast Bitches of the Badlands”
Posted in Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction on January 5, 2011 by carltonmellick
Here’s the artwork for my upcoming book. It will contain three interconnected prequels and sequels to Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland. Each one will focus around a different small background character from Warrior Wolf Women: Apple, Hyena, and the Hamburglar. The book should be out in the spring.
Brian Keene votes “Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland” one of the best books of 2010
Posted in Bizarro Authors, Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction, horror on January 3, 2011 by carltonmellick
On his blog today, bestselling horror writer Brian Keene, mentions my book Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland as one of his top ten reads of 2010.
This is what he has to say:
…this is one of Mellick’s best — and most accessible — works to date. In a post-apocalyptic future where people live in a socialist mega-city run by the McDonald’s Corporation, those who disobey are cast out into the wastelands, where they fall prey to marauding gangs of female werewolves. And with that wacky Bizarro premise, Mellick begins a fascinating and humorous examination of sexual politics and awakenings, consumption mindset, capitalism, gender separation, and dehumanization. The best Bizarro fiction always does this — examines social, political, and religious issues through a very cracked and surreal lens, but Mellick remains the top practitioner, and very rightfully so. If you still don’t understand what the Bizarro genre is about, or want to try reading it and aren’t sure where to begin, Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland is a great starting point.
For the rest of his top ten list, go here: http://www.briankeene.com/?p=5318.
Most Popular Bizarro Books of the Christmas Season
Posted in Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction on December 19, 2010 by carltonmellickThese are some of the Christmas bestsellers:
Why Buying through Amazon.com is the Best Way to Support Writers
Posted in Uncategorized on December 15, 2010 by carltonmellickMany people believe that amazon.com is the big evil of the publishing world. Perhaps they are a bit evil from time to time, but they are an excellent company in a lot of other ways. I love amazon, both as a writer and as a consumer.
In my opinion, I believe that amazon.com is the best thing that ever happened to the small press. The idea that shopping through amazon is bad for publishers and writers couldn’t be further from the truth from my experience as a writer. In fact, I believe that the best way to support small press authors would be to only buy their books through amazon.com. Here’s why: the more copies of a book that sell through amazon.com, the more amazon.com recommends that book and connects it to other books.
In 2001, when my first book Satan Burger came out, I promoted it to readers who were into weird fiction. Due to the also-bought feature on amazon, my book became linked up to a very popular weird fiction book: House of Leaves. For the next three years, Satan Burger was the #1 recommended book with House of Leaves. This launched my career and even though I made less profit per book than copies that were sold at smaller sites like Shocklines.com, I still sold hundreds of copies of the book that wouldn’t have sold otherwise. I’d rather get tons of people reading my books and make just a buck or two per copy sold than make a lot of money per book sold. Ever since Satan Burger was connected to House of Leaves, I was making $500-1000 per month on just that one book, which was enough for a 23 year old with a low cost of living to write full time without need of a day job. My dream of writing as a career became a reality, and it couldn’t have happened without amazon.com.
Flash forward to the current day, Satan Burger is selling just as well as ever because amazon continues to link it up to other products, which keeps it in the public’s eye. There isn’t another bookstore in the country that would keep this book shelved that long. I’ve got 27 more books in print now, many of which sell just as well or better than Satan Burger did. And, due to also-boughts, I’ve become the number one author connected to Christopher Moore. There isn’t a bookseller in the world that would put a small press author’s book alongside a mega seller like Christopher Moore, or Chuck Palahniuk, or House of Leaves. Amazon does this, because it connects things based on what readers buy, not on what the big book industry thinks readers should be buying.
So the best way to support an author, especially a small press author, is to only buy their books through amazon.com. And these days, amazon allows much better discounts so that the publisher and author make more money when books are sold through amazon than anywhere else. This includes books sold directly from our websites. That is, unless we were to charge far more for our books, which would be unfair to the reader. It would also be a lot more work for us, and take much, much longer for the reader to receive the books.
Perhaps amazon.com is a bit on the evil side. They have pulled some cheap tricks to destroy the competition in the past, and will likely continue to do so. But as of now, at this point in time, they are a great company. You should know that the best way to support an author is to buy through amazon.com. At least at this point in time.
Carlton Mellick III 