This is the coolest thing to ever happen to Rabbit in Red, and I thought I'd tell you a bit about Horror Block and how this all came together.
First of all, Horror Block is a monthly mystery box sent to subscribers for $20 a month plus shipping. Inside each box is a variety of high quality gifts. Here are the contents of their latest box I received just yesterday!
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| Included in the July box: Triple feature blu-ray, Psycho t-shirt, Friday the 13th hat, Walking Dead collectible, Rue Morgue Magazine, and an original Simpsons horror art piece. All that for $20!!! |
I've received all sorts of cool gifts throughout the years I've subscribed, and now I can't wait until thousands of people open their box and find an exclusive, new paperback edition of Rabbit in Red!
Rabbit in Red will appear in the November 2016 Horror Block, but I recommend subscribing now and just keeping it current! It's a delight to see that box arrive and find a variety of goodies for the horror fan.
Based on current subscribers, I've been told that up to 16,000 paperbacks of Rabbit in Red will be included. That's why I'm excited: it's the chance to connect with thousands of horror fans around the world. In the years that I've been a subscriber, I've only seen one other fiction novel included in Horror Block. That was a vampire book called Bitten, which went on to become a popular television series on the Syfy channel!
What may surprise you is this: Being included in Horror Block was not only a dream from day one, but I've been working on it since the first words of Rabbit in Red were written. In that first chapter, you'll notice that Bill Wise, our protagonist, makes a comment on them being the "most kick-ass subscription box ever." Yes, it's internal advertising for Horror Block, but every word Bill says about it is sincere. I describe Horror Block as Loot Crate for horror fans but on steroids. You get ten times the quality.
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| Horror Block is one of the Nerd Block mystery boxes! |
Even before Rabbit in Red was published, I had sent messages to Horror Block about my novel idea and what I was doing to celebrate them inside the book. That's right. I sent e-mails to them in the summer of 2015. Rabbit in Red wasn't published until the fall of 2015. Throughout the year, I would tweet at them or comment on a Facebook post. I followed up messages every so often, and then in June of 2016, I received this message:
"I fell asleep reading your book . . ."
At first, I thought: Well, that's rude. Just say no if you don't like it.
But then: "I fell asleep because I stayed up as late as I could on a work night to read. I didn't want to stop."
And then: "I'll need a quote on 13,000-15,000 copies."
Since then, Horror Block has sold out every month and continually gained subscribers. We're looking at up to 16,000 copies right now. That's a lot of horror fans and a lot of opportunity.
In general, here's how I function: for better or for worse, I'm the "always happy, never satisfied" kind of guy. Being a writer is tough. Think about it. How many books do you think the average person has read this year? How many books have you read? Now, there are fantastic exceptions (and we love you for it), but that number is awfully low as a generalization. Follow that up with this: How many books have been published this year? Or even just written? I honestly think there may be more writers than readers some days.
So I told myself, if publishing is a route I want to pursue, then there are two things I need to do.
1. Learn to be happy and celebrate any success. That means to celebrate a single sale or a single review. Forget hundreds and thousands of sales and reviews-- celebrate the individual reader, the individual sale, the individual review. You don't need 50 or 100 or 1000 to be happy.
2. BUT if you do want more than that, you have to find unique strategies. Not just the same old blogs and tweets over and over again. So I connected with a kick-ass band for an original Rabbit in Red song, we did a live action trailer, we got the best original artwork possible, we connected with horror pages and fans, we did event after event after event.
Happy, but not satisfied.
Well, I feel pretty satisfied today. But when I finish this blog, I'm going to get back to work on book three. (Book two in the series is complete!). Then I'm going to brainstorm other ways to connect with horror fans and readers.
Never give up.
Thank you to Horror Block for this incredible honor and opportunity. Sign up on their website today.
A few other shout outs:
Give Camron Johnson Illustrations a like on Facebook. Camron is doing the exclusive cover for the new Horror Block edition, as well as the cover for Burn the Rabbit, book two in the series!
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| Original art by Camron Johsnon for Rabbit in Red |
Give Fitz of Horror a like, too! Fitz is one of the biggest horror pages and horror supporters out there. He's also the voice of the rabbit-- look for the audio book of Rabbit in Red this fall!
Give Apartment Two a like. They are a media content group producing new pictures and videos to pepare for Burn the Rabbit's release.
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| Photo by Apartment Two |
Of course, I hope you'll follow me on Facebook, check out my website here, and sign up for my newsletter for all the latest, cool news!
For my local friends, I hope to see you at Zeek's Comics & Games (give them a like, too!) on Saturday, September 17 for the print release of Burn the Rabbit! We'll have plenty of copies and lots of extra swag and giveaways. Don't miss it-- it's their one year anniversary, and the place will be packed with lots of cool artists, authors, and specials!
To all of my friends and readers: thanks for your reviews, your love of Rabbit in Red, and your support of me. This wouldn't be possible without you!
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| Burn the Rabbit cover designed by Camron Johnson Illustrations |
Subscribe to Horror Block now and be sure to get your copy!
What is the best Comic subscription box to get monthly?
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