Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Mahko's Knife & the gang


As previously threatened, er, mentioned, Mahko's Knife has moved its way into electronic existence. Currently available at Amazon, the action thriller from John O'Dowd is getting a warm reception befitting its tough protagonist and desert setting. As soon as a bugaboo involving apostrophes is cleared up , it will be at Smashwords as well.

Tonight, all the Haunted Computer Books are ranked under 10,000 at Amazon. Not spectacular, but noteworthy, since there are 420,000 ebooks listed. So we're in the top two or three percent.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Skull Ring now available at Amazon and Smashwords


Suspense novel The Skull Ring is now live for Kindle at Amazon and for Sony, ePub, Stanza, Palm, and other formats at Smashwords. Hope you will give it a look.

Julia Stone is piecing together childhood memories of the night her father vanished. When she discovers a strange silver ring, the past comes creeping back. She finds messages inside her house, the cop who investigated her father's disappearance has followed her to the mountain town of Elkwood, and the religious local handyman is trying to save her in more ways than one. And now a sinister cult is claiming ownership of her body and soul...


The official launch is still March 1, at which time giveaways will ensue based on the book's success that week at Amazon. Hope you'll chip in as a Microchip and support working-class fiction!

Friday, February 19, 2010

#1-#2-#3


Thanks to some wonderful support from people in the Amazon forums community, The Red Church shot back up to #1 in Christian science fiction and fantasy, and is currently #2 in ghosts for kindle and #3 in "ghosts" overall, plus cracked the 1,000-ranking mark for the first time. (In Amazon rankings, lower is gooder, meaning #1 is the best seller.) I am enjoying writing more than ever and it means so much to be able to freely create and connect with readers.

And great partners like Neil Jackson at Ghostwriter, S.D. Sullivan, and L.C. Glazebrook, as well as loving support at home, make all this so much more meaningful. Here's Neil's new cover for "Burial to Follow." The man is talented. Thanks, you all, and please sign up to be a Microchip. It looks like The Skull Ring should also be able to crack the 1,000 barrier, at which point we're dumping in a lot more prizes.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Mahko's Knife


Here's the cover of our upcoming March release, MAHKO'S KNIFE, the debut of a cool new voice in the action/thriller genre. We're in final formatting now. Author John O'Dowd has a dry wit and plenty of "field experience,' so look for this novel at Kindle, Smashwords, and wherever better ebooks are sold. We will probably get to a print version of this eventually. He fancies himself a modern-day Zane Grey but I'm pitching him as the "Tom Clancy of the desert," or something like that. You know, someone that sells! Say hello to John at the Mahko's Knife blog.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

More Microchip Prizes


We've decided to go a little crazy and give away more stuff. Books, DVDs, and graphic novels. We'll post the list soon, but there's a two-tiered plan in place (don't worry, you don't have to do anything but be a Microchip). If The Skull Ring gets in the Top 1,000 Kindle bestsellers in its first week of release, we'll be doubling the number of prizes. Just send an email to hauntedcomputerbooks@yahoo.com with "Microchip" in the subject line. That's all. Free stuff.

There will be opportunities to help us out if you want, starting now with writing reviews and tagging our books at Amazon, and if you want to do more, you can get extra free stuff, but who cares about us? This is about you. Free stuff. You deserve it.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Become a Haunted Computer Microchip and get free books

Haunted Computer is grateful for readers who take time to try new works in a world already crowded with far too much information. We also understand that word of mouth is our secret weapon in the war for attention. Well, we don't think of it as armed conflict. We prefer to believe we are sharing an intimate journey of dreams to make sense of this wild, wonderful world. Or we're insane.

If you like to blog about books, or agree to a minimum promotional commitment for the release day of our book (posting on Facebook, Amazon post, etc.), we'll be happy to give you a free PDF, Mobi, Sony Reader, ePub or other digital file of the work. In return, you get an advance read, you're an official Microchip, and from time to time we will have some tangible stuff to give away. On March 2, we will randomly give away a hardcover copy of Peter Straub's new thriller "A Dark Matter," and the 100th Microchip enrolled will get a signed, limited edition hardcover of the Brimstone Turnpike anthology.

How cool is that? You can say you knew Haunted Computer Productions back when it was just an electronic gleam in the world's laziest hack's eye. Plus you'll be supporting working-class books and writers. Heck, you're helping build the Haunted Computer!

If all that sounds weird enough to drag you in, please email hauntedcomputerbooks@yahoo.com with the subject line "Microchip."
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Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Red Church: The first chapter


The Red Church is available at Amazon for Kindle and at Smashwords in other digital formats.


CHAPTER ONE


The world never ends the way you believe it will, Ronnie Day thought.
There were the tried-and-true favorites, like nuclear holocaust and doomsday asteroid collisions and killer viruses and Preacher Staymore's all-time classic, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. But the end really wasn't such a huge, organized affair after all. The end was right up close and personal, different for each person, a kick in the rear and a joy-buzzer handshake from the Reaper himself.
But that was the Big End. First you had to twist your way though a thousand turning points and die a little each time. One of life's lessons, learned as the by-product of thirteen years as the son of Linda and David Day and one semester sitting in class with Melanie Ward. Tough noogies, wasn't it?
Ronnie walked quickly, staring straight ahead. Another day in the idiot factory at good old Barkersville Elementary was over. Had all evening to look forward to, and a good long walk between him and home. Nothing but his feet and the smell of damp leaves, fresh grass, and the wet mud of the riverbanks. A nice plate of spring sunshine high overhead.
And he could start slowing down in a minute, delaying his arrival into the hell that home had been lately, because soon he would be around the curve and past the thing on the hill to his right, the thing he didn't want to think about, the thing he couldn't help thinking about, because he had to walk past it twice a day.
Why couldn't he be like the other kids? Their parents picked them up in shiny new Mazdas and Nissans and took them to the mall in Barkersville and dropped them off at soccer practice and then drove them right to the front door of their houses. So all they had to do was step in and stuff their faces with microwave dinners and go to their rooms and waste their brains on TV or Nintendo all night. They didn’t have to be scared.
Well, it could be worse. He had a brain, but it wasn't something worth bragging about. His "overactive imagination" got him in trouble at school, but it was also kind of nice when other kids, especially Melanie, asked him for help in English.
So he'd take having a brain any day, even if he did suffer what the school counselor called "negative thoughts." At least he had thoughts. Unlike his little dorkwad of a brother back there, who didn't have sense enough to know that this stretch of road was no place to be messing around.
"Hey, Ronnie." His brother was calling him, it sounded like from the top of the hill. The dorkwad hadn't stopped, had he?
"Come on." Ronnie didn't turn around.
"Looky here."
"Come on, or I'll bust you upside the head."
"No, really, Ronnie. I see something."
Ronnie sighed and stopped walking, then slung his bookbag farther up on his shoulder. He was at least eighty feet ahead of his little brother. Tim had been doing his typical nine-year-old's dawdling, stopping occasionally to tie his sneaker strings or look in the ditch water for tadpoles or throw rocks at the river that ran below the road.
Ronnie turned- to your left, he told himself, so you don't see it- and looked back along the sweep of gravel at the hill that was almost lost among the green bulk of mountains. He could think of a hundred reasons not to walk all the way back to see what Tim wanted him to see. For one thing, Tim was at the top of the hill, which meant Ronnie would have to hike up the steep grade again. The walk home from the bus stop was nearly a mile and a half already. Why make it longer?
Plus there were at least ninety-nine other reasons-
like the red church
- not to give a flying fig what Tim was sticking his nose into now. Dad was supposed to stop by today to pick up some more stuff, and Ronnie didn't want to miss him. Maybe they'd get to talk for a minute, man-to-man. If Tim didn't hurry, Dad and Mom might have another argument first and Dad would leave like he had last week, stomping the gas pedal of his rusty Ford so the wheels threw chunks of gravel and broke a window. So that was another reason not to go back to see whatever had gotten Tim so worked up.
Tim jumped up and down, the rolled cuffs of his blue jeans sagging around his sneakers. He motioned with his thin arm, his glasses flashing in the midafternoon sun. "C'mon, Ronnie," he shouted.
"Dingle-dork," Ronnie muttered to himself, then started backtracking up the grade. He kept his eyes on the gravel the way he always did when he was near the church. The sun made little sparkles in the rocks, and with a little imagination, the roadbed could turn into a big galaxy with lots of stars and planets, and if he didn't look to his left he wouldn't have to see the red church.
Why should he be afraid of some dumb old church? A church was a church. It was like your heart. Once Jesus came in, He was supposed to stay there. But sometimes you did bad things that drove Him away.
Ronnie peeked at the church just to prove that he didn't care about it one way or another. There. Nothing but wood and nails.
But he'd hardly glanced at it. He'd really seen only a little piece of the church's mossy gray roof, because of all the trees that lined the road- big old oaks and a gnarled apple tree and a crooked dogwood that would have been great for climbing except if you got to the top, you'd be right at eye level with the steeple and the belfry.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

#1, and the spirit is willing


Well, that was easy. Haunted Computer Productions just had its first #1 bestseller. The Red Church hit #1 on the Kindle list in the category of "Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy." Ahead of people like C.S. Lewis, Jenkins and LaHaye.

It's been hanging around #2-4 in the "Ghosts" category but there's this dude named Poe who refuses to be knocked off. I take this opportunity to say, "Thank you, God," and thank you readers who support this wonderful dream.

Dreams always change and nobody stays #1 long in a rapidly-changing world, and it's probably over as I type this, but there are still 6.5 billion readers waiting out there...

Wednesday, February 3, 2010


I've signed an agreement with Horror Mall to release our titles. Horror Mall is a great emporium with a variety of authors, formats, products, and good, old-fashioned coolness! It will take a few weeks to get the titles up there, but if you want to support them instead of Amazon or Smashwords, that's a good thing. Our prices will be the same everywhere, to the best of our abilities.

I've also set up a separate address for the enterprise at hauntedcomputerbooks@yahoo.com

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Next up, Scattered Ashes


The beautiful cover by Neil Jackson of Ghostwriter Publications will support the electronic edition of Scattered Ashes, a story collection coming soon to Kindle and Smashwords. Print editions are still available from Dark Regions.

Neil is rounding up some files and we're working on more releases, so expect a steady stream. We'll announce names as we get things finalized, but initially we'll be focusing on genre fiction--crime, mystery, contemporary fantasy, horror, dark fantasy, suspense, and thrillers.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Haunted Computer Books

This blog is dedicated to the digital books published by Haunted Computer Productions. Right now, my own titles The Red Church and the novelette Burial to Follow are available. Through arrangement with Ghostwriter Publications in the UK, I will be releasing digital versions of several Ghostwriter authors and will search for more backlist of established authors.

I am running a very writer-friendly outfit, allowing writers to reach new audiences. Neil Jackson of Ghostwriter will be supplying covers. We're primarily publishing for Kindle but we'll also be available in multiple platforms through Smashwords. I hope you give us a try. This blog will include guest posts, interviews, digital-book news, healthy publishing-industry debate, and a mutual celebration of stories and words. Hope you will join us!