Dark Regions Press book announcement thread

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

Well your grammar has me thoroughly impressed. I sure hope your story has something to do with DBZ!? That would be like totally rad...

Gnet BuddahKai. The kid/troll/whatever Goku is linked it in his post. It's...it's worth a read. It's SOMETHING...I think.

Speaking of which, Hey Goku, when are you coming out with the next installment? You did that "tralor" like, a week ago.

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

Are you arguing that the Afterall cover is good because it has a matching color scheme? My robotic senses will not allow me to detect how that cover is anything other than a five minute garbage Photoshop job.

Have you ever worked with photoshop? I guarantee that took far longer than five minutes. The line-work alone is pretty deliberate (also hand-drawn). I've already pointed out a number of things that make "Afterall" a good poster (Notice how the first thing you see is the title, and then the line work draws your eye around the image, bringing you to the rest of the information, and then back to the title?) But hey, if you're still not getting it let me give you some other examples.

You're doing the small press thing (Which is ballsey considering print is dying pretty rapidly and publishing companies and retailers alike are closing shop across the country). You're doing the small-press thing, but you still have to compete with the big-boys, so lets compare your cover art to some bestsellers. Let's compare your Bicep-angel vs Electro-jesus to:



Stephen King.

Personally,I'm not a fan of King. But hey, no other horror writer has really become as widely read as he is, so he must be doing something right. One of those things is this cover: It's a classic. Do you have Pennywise jumping around while shooting balloons out of a refrigerator over-head of the child-orgy he (strangely) wrote into the book?

No, you have a grate, a claw, a paper boat, and "IT".

This cover attracts my attention, it makes me curious and it fills me with a sense of foreboding. Simple, Elegant, Powerful. This shit BODES dude. It BODES.

Let's try again:


Twilight. Twilight is garbage, and Stephanie Meyer can't write for shit. Still once again: WILDLY POPULAR. One of the main reasons? This cover. I mean seriously, this is an insanely good one. Your eye is instantly drawn to that apple, then up the slender, muted arms you see the title. It's small, almost underwhelming, but the font is unique and interesting, the elongated "L" giving it balance. The red apple on white skin and a black cover hints at latent eroticism, but also innocence with a hint of predation. The image choice and color scheme tie it in both with the story of Eve, and surprisingly enough, little red riding hood. The negative space created by the arms basically makes a "V" and with the apple at the center, this is pretty much a vagina, the apple either indicating virginity, or a loss of virginity. Want to know which? Read the book. There's really no wonder that so many tweens and soccer-moms latched on to Meyer, not with this iconic cover giving them the vapors before they've read even a single word.

Okay, enough with the shitty authors, let's do one I like:


A stormy sky stretching out over an open road and terminating in a friggin bolt of lightning that seems to split the whole cover in half. FUCK YEAH. I really can't have enough praise for Neil Gaiman, the man's a genius, his prose, his dialogue, his concepts and storylines, everything, perfect. Like this cover. They didn't give us All of the Old Gods squaring off with the new Gods while Mr. Wednesday looks on from the clouds. They didn't give us Shadow on the World's Tree, or a random shot of that weird-assed Search Engine.

No, they gave us a storm and a road, and a bolt of lightning. Your eye is drawn across his name, Down the bolt, Down the road and straight to the tile, "American Gods". Fucking. Amazing.

Do you see why your covers are a problem? When you have stuff like this to compete with, and you're giving us this:



Or the Gaki? Or the afore-mentioned episode of "Crossing Over"?

They don't even compare. Your (or your Artist's) idea of cover art seems to be akin to my Dad's idea of Chili: "The more shit you throw in, the better it is". Guess what? My Dad's Chili SUCKS. If you want your books to sell, you NEED good, Dynamic, iconic covers, which do more than catch the eye, with their sheer weirdness and gratuitous amounts of fail. They need to evoke a sense of mystery, they need to be pleasing to the eye, and they need to be easy to look at. They need to put the emphasis where it's important: On the title of the book, and the contents within and they need to be complete works of art, not simply text slapped over a drawing.

Do better.

[Chris_Morey]

Again, you're repeatedly referencing one or two of our covers, and ignoring the hundreds of others. Why? Because you've looked at the others, you've seen the talent, and you know that if you reference those other covers your argument will lose all of its weight.

Yes, I've been using Photoshop for eight years. The line drawings (hand drawn) were added in as a layer in your Afterall cover. Yes, I could re-create that cover in five minutes. Yes, it's garbage.

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

Again, you're repeatedly referencing one or two of our covers, and ignoring the hundreds of others. Why? Because you've looked at the others, you've seen the talent, and you know that if you reference those other covers your argument will lose all of its weight.

I've referenced the books that you've brought here. I've given credit where credit is due (Hard-Boiled Vampire Killers, the first 3 anthologies) and Mocked where mockery was due (Our Lady of Shadows, The Disappeared, The Gaki, That wierd Rockstar-Clock-Snake-Eye-Ring-Gun cover, John Edwards Vs. Bicep Angels etc.) I didn't mock Fangtooth's cover because it was pretty good, and instead chose to mock it's stupid title. I've been harping on "The Disappeared" alot because it's simply the worst one I've seen so far.

Are you trying to get me to go to your website and start skimming through "hundereds" of bookcovers with the intention of pointing out where you've failed? That sounds suspiciously like you're trolling me, or trying to do some sort of reverse-marketing where I draw attention to your books by pointing out and making fun of whatever wierd composition/art related eyefails I can find. Sorry dude, I have a life. I'll mock the one's you bring here for my own amusment, but if you want me to do this on any kind of a scale, I'd better be drawing a paycheck. (I'm a pusher, the first taste is free, then you have to pay)

Honestly, I'm more concerned that you seem to agree with the fact that the covers I've singled out are indeed terrible. If you agree that some of these are horrible covers, then why did you publish them? I mean there can't be much money in the small-press-independent-horror publishing industry, which means you're doing it for the love of the art, and if you're doing it for that, why shoot yourself in the foot with horrible cover art? Why waste all that time an effort on something which is clearly sub-par and won't sell?

Yes, I've been using Photoshop for eight years. The line drawings (hand drawn) were added in as a layer in your Afterall cover. Yes, I could re-create that cover in five minutes. Yes, it's garbage.

Okay, Do it. Time yourself. I'm waiting.

Bare in MIND however, that once again, I've been talking about the composition, not the content. I'm sure more time was spent on "The Gaki" than Afterall, but Afterall is still a better cover. You guy probably spends more time on his art than Jackson Pollock spent on some of his drip paintings Yet Pollock's work is regarded as far more artistically significant than the aformentioned "Gaki" or anything else done by your artist. Time Spent /= A powerful image, nor does compexity. There are plenty of artists who spend more time on something that really isn't very good. Even if you CAN recreate the line art, scan it, layer it, compose it and edit it all in five minutes (You can't) that won't mean that Afterall's postcard art isn't a better, more dynamic image than anything you've brought to the table so far.

[Chris_Morey]

Fifteen Minutes by William Ollie, second novel in our Dark Thriller series is now available for preorder. Read more about the new novel here: http://www.darkregions.com/products/...iam-Ollie.html

Chris. Your shit sucks and everyone knows it.

I'm tired of you spamming this shit in our forums. So I want you to PRESENT your sales just on this thread alone.

Because I don't know what's more pathetic. Your lack-luster dime-store novels or your attempt to keep coming here to garner free advertising off this site and the sale associated with it, which is FUCKING ZERO YOU STUPID FUCKING BASTARD!

Despanan can make fun of you all fucking day, but so long as you continue to post on this forum with your drivel I will actually post to ASSASSINATE the character of these books. This thread is now a fucking trap for your publishing. Everything you post in here now will be nothing but NEGATIVE attention.

We've exposed you for what you are already. Why do you persist in exploiting this site?

[Despanan]

You cosign bro?

[Chris_Morey]

Hey DoubleK, we won the HWA 2010 Specialty Press Award, just to let you know

Oh, and I have a little present for you....




Dark Regions Press is proud to announce that Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse is now available for preorder on our website in both a leather-bound signed by both author and artist Deluxe Lettered Hardcover with slipcase edition and a 200 Signed and Numbered Limited Hardcover edition! The book comes with an introduction by legendary author Joe R. Lansdale and cover artwork by Bram Stoker award winning artist Vincent Chong!

PREORDER SPECIAL: Order the 200 Signed and Numbered Limited Hardcover while its still in the preorder stage and get it at $5 off the cover price!


Click here to read more about or order Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse!


Multiplex Fandango is subtitled "A Weston Ochse Reader" for good reason. This collection contains a comprehensive representation of short fiction and novellas by the Bram Stoker award winner and Pushcart Prize nominee, including his recent powerful Stoker finalist short story, "The Crossing Of Aldo Rey" and his brilliant Stoker finalist novella, Redemption Roadshow, as well as acclaimed favorites, "Catfish Gods" and "Big Rock Candy Mountain". Also included in this omnibus volume of sixteen short stories and novellas are six original new works of short fiction written especially for this collection including such future classics as "Tarzan Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "Low Men Weeping", and the stunning, "City Of Joy".


“Multiplex Fandango. Say it. Multi-plex Fan-dan-go. It's beautiful, isn't it? Just rolls off the tongue. It’s almost as beautiful and satisfying as the book you may now be holding in your hands, or reading a review about. What we’re seeing here is quite possibly the most comfortable, relaxed, and expert takeover that the horror genre has ever seen. With Multiplex Fandango, Weston Ochse has created an incredible collection, and has given the reader one of the smoothest, most satisfying reads they could ever come across. To drive the point home, Joe Landsdale says in the intro that "This is a book that could almost have been written for me.", but I disagree - this book was written for anyone looking for imaginative, intelligent, and thoroughly awe-inspiring, but strangely uplifting scares that force the reader to think more than react." - Paperback Horror


"This is a book that could almost have been written for me."
- Joe R. Lansdale on Multiplex Fandango

"Multiplex Fandango is a smooth mix of the old school pulp horror vibe and new storytelling, elegantly crafted for the modern reader.” - Rain Graves

“Weston Ochse is to horror what Bradbury is to science fiction -- an artist whose craft, stories and voice are so distinct and mesmerizing that you can't help but be enthralled. Multiplex Fandango is yet another in a long line of exclamation points that reminds us of that fact.” - Dani Kollin

"The truth of the matter is that for all the drive-in movie references, what Weston Ochse has really created in Multiplex Fandango is a travelogue. Acting as narrator and guide, Weston takes you on a trip to places familiar and obscure—New Orleans, the Sonoran desert, Mexico’s Pacific coast, and the dark, impenetrable reaches of the soul. He shows off sights that chill the blood, and as with any good trip, the things seen and experienced along the way will stay with you for a lifetime." - Jeff Mariotte

"Ochse succeeds in creating a complex plot that casts a brutal overwhelming spell."
- Tom Piccirilli on Scarecrow Gods

"Brilliantly rendered. What was so impressive about the piece was that I did not doubt the incredible heroism of the protagonist... nor his motivation.
- Andrew Vachss on "Family Man"

"This is better than the hype. I don't want to go overboard, but stories in the book will remind many readers of the good stuff by Edward Lee and Joe Lansdale and probably Bill Faulkner. There were times, reading some of them, when I was put in mind of Flannery O'Connor." - Richard Laymon on Scary Rednecks and Other Inbred Horrors

"Vampire Outlaw of the Milky Way is what would happen if Ray Bradbury and Lin Carter got together to write a space opera. Only Weston Ochse could write something like this. In lesser hands, it would fall apart. Weston is one of the best authors of our generation."
- Brian Keene on Vampire Outlaw of the Milky Way

"Make way for a new powerhouse on the block. Hard work and formidable skills have already shot-gunned Ochse to the front of the genre's exciting new pack of writers. With creative brawn, brains, and balls, the guy's locked, loaded, and switched to full-auto, blazing away with his unique and original brand of modern horror, one of the few new writers, I'd say, who will help re-define the field for the future."
- Edward Lee on Weston Ochse


Click here to read more about or order Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse!


About the author



Weston Ochse is an Arizona-based author of fiction and non fiction. His work has appeared in comic books, novels, magazines, anthologies and the bathroom stalls of Third World brothels. When not writing, he can be found in the yellow pages under Super Hero for Rent. If you want to meet him, search somewhere near the water where he'll be basking in the sun, racing tarantula wasps or watching the sky for signs of intelligent life.


Publisher contact

Dark Regions Press
P.O. Box 1264
Colusa, CA, 95932
http://www.DarkRegions.com

Contact us directly with any questions or comments at:
support AT darkregionspress.com

[Murder.Of.Crows]

That cover isn't half bad, almost would read it. If it weren't for it being a collection of short stories that are most probably crap. Too many times have I picked up one of these "award winning" collection of mini stories and found them to be nothing more than terrible unimaginative/unoriginal word vomit slapped together in hopes of making a quick buck.

Desp, as i agree with you that Stephen King is a shitty and overrated author, I have to disagree that Stephanie Meyer is one as well. Granted she is grossly overrated, but she isn't too terrible of an author.

Neil Gaiman is fucking awesome.

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

Hey DoubleK, we won the HWA 2010 Specialty Press Award, just to let you know

Take note, children of G.net. This is how you exploit an online community for free advertising. Class act, Chris. You fucking scumbag. Learn to participate in this forum like a reasonable human being or continue looking like the fucking garbage capitalist that you are. Your books DO suck. Again, Pepsi fucking challenge, Chris; How much money have you actually made off of this site so far? I bet it's nothing. And do you know why? Because this site and its members actually see you for what you are. Sub-par horror fiction jockying for easy sales because you seem to think this site is full of a bunch of gothic dipshits. If you did your fucking homework, you'd have found that vampire freaks is more your line of advertising. I'm sure there's a shit load of Stephanie Meyer fans on that site to keep your inbred children well fed at the dinner table.


Die in a horrible cancer fire. Your books are garbage and your breath stinks like rot.

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

See? There you go. That's how you do it! That's actually passable. The emphasis is actually ON the title, and the tiny text below makes me want to take a closer look. This could be an actual poster, that was sold to boring people.

I am so fucking proud of you son.

Now you just need to figure out how to get an author photo that doesn't look like you've ambushed them at nine in the morning and they're slightly embarrassed because they haven't had their coffee and aren't wearing pants.

[Murder.Of.Crows]

Originally Posted by Despanan

Hahaha, quite the humorous one, now aren't you.

Despanan is the only thing shoring up this shitwreck of a publishing company. He truly is a humanitarian at heart.

[Despanan]

They should pay me.

[Murder.Of.Crows]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Despanan is the only thing shoring up this shitwreck of a publishing company. He truly is a humanitarian at heart.

He truly is.

He's a lot like HaSatan, the accuser. They could use a guy like him telling them that they're shit each and every day at comedic expense. Would do them good, really.

[Murder.Of.Crows]

I don't think that tittle quite fits him. He is more like Loki. Actually that character probably suits you better. But HaSatan and Desp. I don't see the similarities.

That would make sense in this context. I'm fine with being the accuser. Desp can be Loki.

[Chris_Morey]

Thanks for the continued support guys, it means a lot. I'm also glad you're being objective, without passing judgement on books you haven't read.

Desp I would hope you like that cover, it's by Vincent Chong, winner of the Bram Stoker award three years in a row for Best Artist.

Please continue to reply to this topic, ensuring it's bumped constantly. Thank you.

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

Please continue to reply to this topic, ensuring it's bumped constantly. Thank you.

You're welcome. Like I've been saying you people really should pay me.

I DO SO MUCH FOR YOU.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

Thanks for the continued support guys, it means a lot. I'm also glad you're being objective, without passing judgement on books you haven't read.

I guess I should go to Barnes&Nobles and start reading every book in order to its proximity to the door before I reach the fiction section, right? Otherwise who am I to say I'm entitled to pass them by if I haven't actually read them?

[Chris_Morey]

All I'm saying is that it makes complete sense to call books bad that you haven't even read, doesn't it? For example:

Boy, the Game of Thrones TV show is great, but the book series by George R. R. Martin is trash, I would suspect.

Gee, that feels great!

Originally Posted by Alan

I guess I should go to Barnes&Nobles and start reading every book in order to its proximity to the door before I reach the fiction section, right? Otherwise who am I to say I'm entitled to pass them by if I haven't actually read them?

[Despanan]

Not to get us off topic here, but:

Originally Posted by Murder.Of.Crows

Desp, as i agree with you that Stephen King is a shitty and overrated author, I have to disagree that Stephanie Meyer is one as well. Granted she is grossly overrated, but she isn't too terrible of an author.

Are you HIGH? I mean Stephen King may suck, but Stephanie Meyer? The man is LEAGUES beyond her, both in writing skill and story-telling ability.

I could at least get a few chapters into Cell. I nearly vomited about 5 pages into Twilight, and eventually had to put it down out of sheer boredom.

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Chris_Morey

All I'm saying is that it makes complete sense to call books bad that you haven't even read, doesn't it? For example:

Boy, the Game of Thrones TV show is great, but the book series by George R. R. Martin is trash, I would suspect.

Gee, that feels great!

But if the show TV show sucked, could one not reasonably infer that the books were crap?

I mean, of course one can't judge a book by it's cover, but if the cover is horrible and the author looks slightly embarrassed at the idea of being photographed, and it has a terrible title like "Seventeen Seconds" or "Fangtooth" and the publishing company in question has their vice-president spamming it on a Goth forum and some ridiculously intelligent and staggeringly handsome bloke is mocking circles around said vice-president...one can make a reasonable inference as to the quality contained within the pages. We can't say objectively that something is bad, but you don't have to drink poison to know it's poison if it says so on the label ya dig?

Just Sayin'...

[Chris_Morey]

People who say Stephen King sucks generally fall into two categories:

1. Contrarians ("Oh, that something that I like is popular now, that means I'll stop liking it.")
2. Literary snobs ("There's not enough purple prose in this writing, and the author isn't using a thesaurus to find archaic adjectives in every sentence!")

King rose to the forefront in fiction because of his skill. There were plenty of other horror authors during the time of his rise that didn't see anything close to a similar ascent.