Latest Posts
Dean Koontz Newsletter, 25 November 2014
November 26, 2014
Happy Tuesday
November 25, 2014
Odd Thomas from Korea
November 24, 2014
I don’t go out of my way to purchase non-English editions but I’ve been known to pick up some used books and the current title from a country I’m visiting. However I recently saw the cover artwork for the Korean editions of the Odd Thomas books and I couldn’t resist. So, with the help of a librarian with a friend in South Korea, and then that friend’s co-worker, these beauties arrived today. (Click for large versions.)
The Innocence paperback comes out on Tuesday
November 21, 2014
See you in just a few days, INNOCENCE Paperback! P.S. This will be the first time Dean’s original e-short story, “Wilderness,” is in print!
10 reasons Catholics Should Read Dean Koontz
November 19, 2014
Are you looking for a spellbinding novel with deeply Catholic themes, compelling characters, and exquisite prose? Well, if you’ve been confining your search to Barnes and Noble’s family-friendly Christian fiction shelf, I’m here to tell you that you’re missing out.
As a reader, you have probably heard of Dean Koontz. He has sold 450 million copies of his books in 38 languages, making him one of the most successful writers in the world. And while his stories have been categorized as science fiction, fantasy, thriller, and horror, he’s also considered by many readers to be the world’s best Catholic author of fiction.
Here are the top ten reasons that Catholics should read Dean Koontz:
1) His protagonists are truly heroic
Read the full article @ aleteia.
31 Days of Halloween: 'Odd Thomas,' 'The Raven' and 'Jacob's Ladder'
November 16, 2014
If you’re searching for a movie that provides just enough entertainment and tension then this is your movie. There are emotional impacts that will hit you harder than you’ll likely expect, but again…not like in the book. Perfect for teens or adults looking for lighter fare, “Odd Thomas” is without a doubt a sleeper worth watching.
Oh, and do yourself a favor; read the books. Even the worst of them are great.
Read the full article @ HeraldExtra.com.
Halloween habits: the rise of horror in children's books
November 16, 2014
Terror was a book. It was Whispers, by Dean Koontz.
Whispers was an adult novel, discarded by my mother for being “too scary” and retrieved by me for the very same reason. I knew it wasn’t meant for children, but that’s the great thing about books: they don’t come with age restrictions!
At that age I was always at the library anyway, secretly reading what I shouldn’t: racy books, violent books, even a book about sex for boys. However, Whispers switched me on to terror, and it was thrillers I learned to love best of all.
I moved onto other Koontz books – Phantoms, Night Chills, Shattered – swopping them with friends, borrowing them from the library, and then I stumbled uponThe Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson. I was way to young to watch the film – those darned age restrictions again! – yet no one fretted that I was reading the book on which the film was based, because reading couldn’t hurt anyone… right?
Read the full article @ The Guardian.
Veronica Scott gets fellow authors' take on favorite scary books
November 16, 2014
Amy Bartol, author of Under Different Stars
Just the thought of Bodachs, the evil, shadowy creatures from Dean Koontz’s epic series Odd Thomas makes me pull my foot back onto the mattress and cover my toes at night. It could be a thousand degrees; it doesn’t matter. The blanket stays in place! If I let it slip, these shifty, malicious harbingers could steal into the world from a dark dimension and get me. In Koontz’s novels, Bodachs form packs and troll an area, drawn to a location in frenzied anticipation of a horrific event. The blanket is my only protection … well, that and sleeping with the light on.
S.E. Smith, author of Twin Dragons: Dragon Lords of Valdier
I love Dean Koontz. The first book I ever read of his was Watchers. I swear I had dreams, OK nightmares, for weeks afterwards. I loved Einstein, the golden retriever, and actually felt sorry for the Outsider. His books, while some are really out-there, pull me into their world. I think I have read most of his books and still keep some of them on my bookshelf for rereading, including his Odd Thomas series.
Read the full article @ USA Today.
Koontz’s “Odd Thomas” does not disappoint
November 10, 2014
The newspaper for Shippensburg University reviews the original Odd Thomas novel.
If you are an avid reader like me, you make sure there is enough spare time in the day to get lost in the eerie, futuristic worlds of Stephen King or fall in love with Nicholas Sparks’ latest absurdly charming male lead. Although I have read what seems like a million books, none have yet to compare to “Odd Thomas,” the greatest piece of literature every written (in my opinion at least).
“Odd Thomas”, written by Shippensburg University alumn, Dean Koontz, could be classified as a mystery, thriller, dark comedy or romance novel. The story takes place in Pico Mundo, California, a small town located in the Mojave Desert.
We are introduced to the protagonist, Odd Thomas, within the first chapter. We quickly learn that Thomas has a special gift (or some say curse) of seeing the dead, which plays a large role throughout the novel. Thomas warns the reader from the very beginning that he “leads an unusual life”, and evidence of this statement can be found throughout the entire story.
Main characters include Stormy Llewellyn, Thomas’s high school sweet heart whom he is destined to be with forever; Chief Wyatt Porter, the head honcho of the Pico Mundo Police Department and also Thomas’s surrogate father; Little Ozzie, a famous four hundred pound, six fingered writer who is one of Thomas’s closest friends. Finally Fungus Man, a sadistic creep of a guy who is the assumed antagonist of the story.
Read the full review @ The Slate Online.
More details on the You Are Destined to be Together Forever ebook
November 7, 2014
From the November 5, 2014 Dean Koontz email:
Go back to the beginning.
The singular journey of Odd Thomas is approaching its unforgettable conclusion in Saint Odd. But before Odd’s destiny is revealed, this exclusive eBook story looks back—way back—to where it all began for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, two souls who are destined to be together forever.
Amid the dizzying rides, tantalizing games of chance, and fanciful attractions of a state fair, two teenage sweethearts on the cusp of life and love’s pleasures find their way to a shadowy carnival tent brimming with curiosities. There, from the bizarre and enthralling Gypsy-Mummy, a mechanized merchant of dreams and prognosticator of tomorrows, the young couple learns what fate promises for them. But fate, for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, is something altogether different: full of dark corners, sharp edges, and things no seer or soothsayer could ever anticipate.
And for Odd Thomas, a gallant fry-cook from a sleepy California desert town, the future beckons—to listen to unquiet spirits, pursue unsettling mysteries, and learn shocking truths . . . for a purpose far greater than himself.
Two recent articles about Cemetery Dance
November 5, 2014
The Spookiest Little Publisher in the World by Leigh Buchanan (Inc.)
In the early ‘90s, a few presses were publishing hardback horror. But the market was dominated by mass-market paperbacks that could be purchased in an airport store at trip’s beginning and ditched in an airport trash receptacle at trip’s end. With a growing stable of authors who trusted him as an editor and a growing base of readers who trusted the Cemetery Dance name, Chizmar decided to create his own book imprint. His first title was an original: “Prisoners & Other Stories,” by the crime writer Ed Gorman, with an afterward by Dean Koontz. Both writers signed all copies. “’Prisoners’ is still the best-looking book to ever appear under my name,” says Gorman, a frequent contributor to the magazine. “It also brought me a kind of attention I’d never had before. And that was all Richard’s doing.”
Artisanal Terror From Lilliputian Presses: Horror From Cemetery Dance, EC Archives, Centipede Press by Dana Jennings (New York Times)
Richard Chizmar, founder and publisher of Cemetery Dance, singles out its 400-page Halloween anthology, “October Dreams 2.” The work’s contributors include Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, Robert Bloch, Stewart O’Nan and Joe R. Lansdale, along with several dozen others.
Other Cemetery Dance titles: “The Dark Man: An Illustrated Poem,” by Stephen King and Glenn Chadbourne; “The Influence,” by Bentley Little; “Last Exit for the Lost,” by Tim Lebbon; “Pork Pie Hat,” by Peter Straub.
Odd Thomas: You Are Destined to be Together Forever
November 3, 2014
Today is was announced that an eBook original will pub published on 9 December 2014 titled Odd Thomas: You Are Destined to be Together Forever.
The singular journey of Odd Thomas is approaching its unforgettable conclusion in Saint Odd. But before Odd’s destiny is revealed, this exclusive eBook short story looks back—way back—to where it all began for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, two souls who are destined to be together forever.
Amid the dizzying rides, tantalizing games of chance, and fanciful attractions of a state fair, two teenage sweethearts on the cusp of life and love’s pleasures find their way to a shadowy carnival tent brimming with curiosities. There, from the bizarre and enthralling Gypsy Mummy, a mechanized merchant of dreams and prognosticator of tomorrows, the young couple learns what fate promises for them. But fate, for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, is something altogether different: full of dark corners, sharp edges, and things no seer or soothsayer could ever anticipate.
And for Odd Thomas, a gallant fry cook from a sleepy California desert town, the future beckons—to listen to unquiet spirits, pursue unsettling mysteries, and learn shocking truths . . . for a purpose far greater than himself.
Link above goes to Amazon. For other eBook formats see the links on the DeanKoontz.com page for this title.
Before They Are Hanged by Dean Koontz
October 27, 2014
Did you know that the Romanian title of Relentless translates into English as Before They Are Hanged? (English translation of the linked review.)
#ASKANNA Twitter Chat
October 24, 2014
Did you catch Dean & Anna’s Twitter chat yesterday? If not, here it is. (Read from the bottom up and click for full-size.)
A late-to-the-party Odd Thomas film review
October 21, 2014
It’s better than average as a supernatural, comedy/mystery, but the movie sets itself up as a completely charming romance as well. To skirt a spoiler, we’ll just let you know that there is a common plot twist that allows the male character to avoid any relationship maintenance and in short, fails the romance angle. Some Dean Koontz readers forgave that plot twist are ongoing Odd Thomas fans, which might mean another movie one of these days. I may be too mad to watch another one, which is a shame because “Odd Thomas” started off so great. You decide, but for me it’s two out of five paws.
Read the full review @ The Cougar Chronicle.
Elmore Leonard's archives go to University of South Carolina
October 17, 2014
University of South Carolina Dean of University Libraries Tom McNally said Leonard visited the campus last year, saw its archives of modern American writers and wanted his papers to go there.
The university purchased the Leonard material, but officials and Leonard’s family declined to discuss the terms.
Highlights of Leonard’s collection include many handwritten manuscripts on the custom-made, unlined yellow paper that Leonard favored.
The collection at USC includes:
- Correspondence between Leonard and authors such as George V. Higgins, John D. MacDonald, John Grisham and Dean Koontz.
Read the full article @ Crain’s Detroit Business.
Ask Anna links
October 16, 2014
- Ask Anna and Support Canine Companions (The official CCI page for the book)
- Does Your Canine Need Advice? Ask Anna Koontz, Win a Copy! (Tripwads.com)
- Votes, Recall, And Records (HamptonRoads.com)
The New American reviews The City
October 16, 2014
Dean Koontz’s characters are often a strange lot, and Jonah Kirk is no exception. In the hands of a lesser author, the story of a young black man with a gift for music growing up during the 1960s in Koontz’s unnamed city would probably become a painful dull preachment on the social ills of that era. When the reader discovers that another major character had been among the Japanese-Americans who spent the years of the Second World War in the Manzanar internment camp in California, the possibility for such preachment would often be redoubled. Not so with The City. Koontz does not offer characters who define themselves as “victims,” or who wallow in morbid self-pity. Far from making such characters objects of pity, Koontz leads the reader to see the strength which comes from adversity. As one character declares in the course of the novel, “Too many experts make art political, ’cause they believe great artists always held the same convictions as they themselves do. But the last thing art should be is political. Yuck. Double yuck. Keep your mind free. Trust your eye and heart.”
Read the full review @ The New American.
No, Dean has not written a book titled "Falling Stars"
October 15, 2014
Unfortunately, this headline is causing people to think just that: ‘The Next Dean Koontz: New Suspense Thriller “Falling Stars” Hits Bookshelves’.
You can read what this is really about @ WebWire.com.
Discover Dean Koontz
October 14, 2014
Hey US fans, have you seen the site Harper UK has set up for their editions of Dean’s books? Check it out @ www.discoverdeankoontz.com.
