The Funhouse audiobook on the way

September 6, 2014

Unfortunately at this point I can’t find any artwork or release date, but amazon has both CD and MP3-CD versions available for pre-order.

Darkfall trade paperback

September 6, 2014

The $16.00 trade paperback reprint of Darkfall was released on Tuesday.

The strange case of the Wilderness & Other Stories release date

August 29, 2014

March 22, 2014:
I order my copy of the Wilderness and Other Stories MP3-CD on Amazon.com. The release date is listed as September 9, 2014 but the order confirmation says:

Your estimated delivery date is:
We’ll notify you via e-mail when we have an estimated delivery date for this item.

August 21, 2014:
Amazon sends me a delivery update which says:

Your new estimated delivery date is:
Wednesday, August 27, 2014 

August 26, 2014:
My item has been shipped. Accordingly I’m told:

Your estimated delivery date is:
Thursday, August 28, 2014

August 27, 2014:
I get another delivery update which says:

New Delivery Estimate: September 04, 2014

August 27, 2014:
My package arrives.
August 29, 2014 (today):
Amazon’s page still lists September 9, 2014 as the release date.
Really, what am I supposed to list as the publication date for this item in the book? Here are my options:

• September 9, 2014, the “official ” release date according to Amazon, oh, and the Brilliance Web site too.
• August 28, 2014, based on the fact that pre-ordered items shipped via two-day shipping, generally arrive on their release date.
• August 27th, 2014, the day I got it, one day after it was shipped via two-day shipping.

Argh!

October Dreams 2 — Last Chance to Order the SIGNED Trade Hardcover!

August 29, 2014

This weekend will be your last chance to order SIGNED copies of the TRADE HARDCOVER of October Dreams II edited by Richard Chizmar & Robert Morrish, the long-awaited follow up to one of the most acclaimed Halloween anthologies ever!

The editors will be making time to personally sign these trade hardcovers and since neither of them do many book signings or conventions these days, it’s likely you’ll never have another chance to get your book signed by them! Order the special signed trade hardcover on the October Dreams II page before time runs out!

Featuring Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, Robert Bloch, Stewart O’Nan, Glen Hirshberg, Joe R. Lansdale, Al Sarrantonio, Whitley Strieber, Lisa Morton, Matthew Costello, Elizabeth Massie, and dozens of others, this oversized volume will contain spooky Halloween short fiction, dozens of authors and artists recalling their own personal memories of Halloween, and essays detailing the “history” of Halloween.
Many of the contributing authors will also autograph the signed editions, which we don’t expect will last long considering the popularity of the original October Dreams and the low print runs we have planned for these special editions!
About the Book:
The long-awaited follow up to one of the most acclaimed Halloween anthologies ever! This oversized volume will contain spooky Halloween short stories, dozens of authors and artists recalling their own personal memories of Halloween, and essays detailing the “history” of Halloween. Many of the contributing authors will also autograph the signed editions, which we don’t expect will last long considering the popularity of the original October Dreams and the low print runs we have planned for these special editions.
via Cemetery Dance.

Wilderness and Other Stories delivery date changes again

August 25, 2014

And this morning Amazon tells me “New Delivery Estimate: September 02, 2014.” 😛

Darkfall trade paperback

August 23, 2014

This one managed to sneak up on me somehow: Berkley will be releasing a trade paperback edition of Darkfall on 9 September 2014 with a list price of $16.00.

Wilderness and Other Stories release date confusion

August 21, 2014

Amazon is still listing the release date for Wilderness and Other Stories on MP3-CD as September 9th. However on Tuesday Amazon told me my delivery date would be August 25th. Then today, they told me it would be August 27th. Yeah, I’m confused.

Ask Anna moved up

August 14, 2014

According to Amazon, Ask Anna is now coming out on Tuesday, October 7, 2014, instead of October 28th. Unfortunately, Amazon also says the book is currently unavailable for ordering. (Center Street is part of Hachette and is therefore stuck in the middle of the fight between Hachette & Amazon. Google it if you don’t know what I’m talking about.)

Kidnap insurance

August 12, 2014

I just read that many wealthy people buy kidnap insurance. Why would they want to ensure they'll be kidnapped?

— Dean Koontz (@deankoontz) August 12, 2014

Wilderness and Other Stories MP3-CD

August 11, 2014

This is due out on September 9, 2014. Here’s the details on what’s included:

“Wilderness,” a darkly intriguing short story first published as an e-book original, was written as prelude to Dean Koontz’s novel of mystery, suspense, and strange wonder—Innocence.
Twelve of the other fourteen short stories and novelettes included in this audio anthology were most recently reissued in a print collection entitled Strange Highways, published by Warner Books (1995). The other two—”The Scariest Thing I Know” (2000) first published in Martha Stewart Living magazine and “Hostage Situation” (2009) in The New York Times Summer Thriller series.
Only the short work “Down in the Darkness,” has ever been produced for audio.

From this description I could probably predict the titles of the unspecified titles based on the TOC of Strange Highways, but instead I think I’ll leave it for now and just post the 100% accurate version once I have a copy in hand.

I thought that sounded familiar…

August 8, 2014

If you thought that the title “The Scariest Thing I Know,” Dean’s contribution to the previously mentioned October Dreams II, you’re right. It was first published in the October 2000 issue of Martha Stewart Holiday.

Announcing October Dreams 2: A Celebration of Halloween From Cemetery Dance Publications!

August 8, 2014

Hi Folks!

We’re very pleased to announce we’re working on October Dreams II edited by Richard Chizmar & Robert Morrish, the long-awaited follow up to one of the most acclaimed Halloween anthologies ever!

Featuring Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, Robert Bloch, Stewart O’Nan, Glen Hirshberg, Joe R. Lansdale, Al Sarrantonio, Whitley Strieber, Lisa Morton, Matthew Costello, Elizabeth Massie, and dozens of others, this oversized volume will contain spooky Halloween short fiction, dozens of authors and artists recalling their own personal memories of Halloween, and essays detailing the “history” of Halloween.
Many of the contributing authors will also autograph the signed editions, which we don’t expect will last long considering the popularity of the original October Dreams and the low print runs we have planned for these special editions!
Special Note For Collectors:
For a very limited time only, we are also accepting orders for copies of the trade hardcover personally signed by the editors.  There is no extra charge for these copies and this offer will not last long!
About the Book:
The long-awaited follow up to one of the most acclaimed Halloween anthologies ever! This oversized volume will contain spooky Halloween short stories, dozens of authors and artists recalling their own personal memories of Halloween, and essays detailing the “history” of Halloween. Many of the contributing authors will also autograph the signed editions, which we don’t expect will last long considering the popularity of the original October Dreams and the low print runs we have planned for these special editions.

Dean’s contribution is “The Scariest Thing I Know.” Read more and order @ CemeteryDance.com.

Koontz digital comics

August 6, 2014

Interested in reading digital editions of the Fear Nothing graphic novel or the Frankenstein: Prodigal Son comics? You can find them on the Dark Horse Web site. (Yes, they were published by Dynamite, but Dark Horse is hosting the digital editions.)

Dean on writing his first book

August 5, 2014

Dean Koontz (first book Star Quest): I was teaching under Title III of the Appalachian Poverty Program and tutoring kids from families deep in poverty. And I was likewise deep in poverty. I thought, I don’t want to keep this forever because I was selling short stories. I wanted to write a novel, so I took a job at a regular school teaching English. I had been reading sci-fi from about when I was 11 or 12. It was the preponderance of what I had read and that’s what my short stories became, and I proceeded to write a novel called Star Quest the summer between those jobs. It was a pretty lame novel. It met the length requirements of a novel but it was like an expanded short story.

Read the full article @ BuzzFeed Books.

Dean's Worldwide Rights

August 3, 2014

This is the Dean Koontz page for the Lennart Sane Agency which, as far as I can tell from looking through the site, is the agency that represents Dean for worldwide (i.e. non-US) rights. (Warning: thir home page auto-plays music.)

By the Book

July 28, 2014

As predicted, Dean was the interviewee for the By the Book column in yesterday’s New York Times Book Review. It’s on page 7 if you’re following along.

Three forms of Innocence

July 28, 2014

I’m OCD about these things so you don’t have to be…
It turns out there are three versions/variations on the trade hard cover edition of Innocence.
All three of them contain the same information on their copyright pages listing an ISBN of 978-0-553-80803-2 as shown below.

The first version, the one I’m calling the “standard” version, has a dust jacket with the UPC on the back listing the same ISBN as the copyright page and was not issued with an autograph sheet:

Version #2 was sold online by Barnes & Noble. This one has a tipped in illustrated autograph page between the front free end paper and the half title. However the UPC on the back of the dust jacket does not match the one on the copyright page. This ISBN is 978-0-8041-7922-5.

Version #3 was sold online by Target. It has the same illustrated autograph page along with the same ISBN on the copyright page as version #2, but the UPC is the same as version #1. It also has an “Autographed Copy” sticker affixed to the front of the dust jacket.

So, which one is the “true first edition”? Sometimes even I’m not sure. However, considering the general availablity of version #1 and the limited availability of versions #2 & #3, I’m going with version #1 as the “true” first, even though technically all three are first editions. (After all, they all state “2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1” and “First Edition” on the copyright page…)

Third error found in The City ARC

July 21, 2014

Fellow obsessive Erick has found another error in the advance copy of The City. This time it’s a missing open quotation mark on page 347. This one was also fixed in the trade release.

Best Books…chosen by Dean Koontz

July 21, 2014

The online article by Dean about his favorite books that I linked to yesterday will also be appearing in the 25 July 2014 print issue of The Week.
 

Dean Koontz's 5 favorite books

July 20, 2014

• In Sunlight and in Shadow by Mark Helprin
• The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
• Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers
• The Color of Light by William Goldman
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Read the full article @ TheWeek.com.