Blogging about horror, writing, and more. My new novel, Darkness Calls, is represented by Patty Carothers and Amy Brewer of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
My award-winning horror trilogy, Rabbit in Red, is complete and available from your favorite bookseller.
It’s a live talk show that I’m streaming on the web. I want
to focus, initially, on central Illinois guys and girls doing incredible
things. We’ll talk about life’s passions, we’ll play games, and we’ll chat
about pop culture. It’s a grab bag of fun, but the focus will be on a person or
persons from our community doing cool stuff.
Episode one featured ICC student and motivational speaker,
Ruben Ramirez. Episode two will feature local pop-punk band, Terribly Happy—Logan
Kiesewetter, Kyle Hamon, and James Wylie.
The shows air the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.
I’ve been inspired by lots of things—like podcasts—but I wanted to put my own
spin and twist on it. So it’s a webcam show, and it’s LIVE. You can always
watch it later, too, but there’s something special about live shows, don’t you
think? Anything can happen, and there’s no editing!
Why am I doing this? I like connecting with people. I'm a communication professor-- it's kind of my thing! I’m also
an author with his first book on the shelves. It’s called Rabbit in Red, and it’s an exciting first story in a horror
trilogy. The web show allows me to connect with more interested and interesting people! You can learn more about Rabbit in Red here.
What can you do if you’re interested? I hope you’ll do a few
things.
1.Like my page on Facebook HERE. This is where I’ll
be posting updates about All in the Reflexes, including the links to each live
show, as well as info on some of my other projects.
2.SUBSCRIBE, please, to THIS YouTube channel. This
is where you will be able to find and watch episodes of All in the Reflexes.
3.APPLY to be a guest. You can do it officially on
website HERE. Or, if we already know one another, just shoot me a message on
Facebook.
4.Finally, SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter HERE. Just
enter your e-mail on my website. I’ll be sending out info once a month,
including the guests that will be featured on All in the Reflexes that month. Plus, you’ll be the first to hear
news about upcoming projects, and there will always be prizes to give away.
Always. I like prizes.
The show will certainly evolve, and I already have many
ideas. But for now, I hope you’ll follow, watch, and give some love to cool
people from our community.
Thanks.
Here's the Facebook event invite for episode two-- click "JOIN" and you'll get a reminder and any updates about the show!!! CLICK HERE.
Last night was the first episode of All in the Reflexes, a live web talk show that I'm hosting twice a month. It was beyond fun! My special guest Ruben Ramirez talked about his passions, including motivational speaking to Tupac and more. He performed Al Pacino's "One Inch" speech from Any Given Sunday. If you don't have time for the whole episode, at least jump to 16:45 to see that.
Check out episode one here!
We end with a silly game where we can only talk in questions with Kayla Fast. I'm amazed at how horribly I did at my own game, but it was fun.
I'm doing this show to talk about people in our community who are doing cool things. Ruben's a student of mine, and I can't help but take a lot of pride in everything he's doing. I hope you'll take a look inside the episode to learn all about him.
The next episode will be Wed Jan 27 with the pop-punk band Terribly Happy! I'll be interviewing the three band members-- Kyle, James, and Logan-- about all sorts of fun topics.
I've also created a new newsletter, and I hope you'll take the time to sign up. I promise not to spam your e-mail. It will be a monthly newsletter sometime during the first week of each month.
I want the first one to be extra special, so I'm giving you all a special short story called "Whispers and Flames!" Yep, giving it away! It takes place in between books one and two in the Rabbit in Red series, and it will give you a teaser of what you can expect from book two.
In addition, I'll use the newsletter to preview each month's guests on All in the Reflexes! Plus, we'll do giveaways and prizes. I've got some awesome new swag on its way right now, and I'm going to give away a swag bag of goodies to a new subscriber, but you'll have to subscribe and read the first newsletter to learn how to win!
Sign up here:
I'll also make sure subscribers are the FIRST to know about new projects and will receive exclusive content (like book excerpts) that I won't share anywhere else.
I'm excited about the future! I get to interview lots of cool people in All in the Reflexes, and I'm working very hard on the Rabbit in Red series, in hopes that it genuinely becomes one of your favorites.
Thanks for following this journey. Follow me on Facebook here! Get the new & improved Amazon e-book of Rabbit in Red here for only $3.99! And don't forget to subscribe the new newsletter above!
Rabbit in Redstarted because, quite simply, I love horror. It’s my
celebration of the genre from horror riddles to virtual reality to ultimately a
hands-on Hogwarts of horror experience. There’s more to it than that—characters
with dark pasts, themes of fear and death, and even love and bullying, but at
its core my first book is a tribute to all of the great stories I loved.
It’s the first in a
trilogy, and I want to tell you a bit about the second in the series,
tentatively titled Burn the Rabbit.
If book one is my
celebration of horror, book two is my chokehold. From the first page, I want to
wrap my arms around your throat, squeeze as hard as I can, and not let go until
you’ve read the final word.
SPOILER ALERT!Before you go any further, have you read book one? If not, go grab a copy
today! We keep the e-book super cheap (less than specialty coffee drink at
Starbucks!), and you can get print for just a few bucks more.
Seriously, some of
the things you’re about to read may give away certain things that happen in
book one.
STOP AND GET BOOK ONE if you haven’t. Bookmark this article, and read it after you’ve finished.
OKAY, here we go.
Let’s chat about book two.
Here’s a current
back-of-the-book blurb for Burn the
Rabbit.
I also created an
unofficial trailer, unofficial meaning that I was just playing on my phone. Here’s
an iMovie trailer for book two. Watch!
What’s most
important about the trailer are the taglines. If you’re wondering what book two
is really about, re-watch and re-read the lines used throughout.
“Revenge brings
blood and death.” Burn the Rabbit begins with someone (who— one of the many
mysteries!) wanting to destroy Rabbit in Red along with our beloved characters.
“Be ready to face
the scariest challenge yet.” At the end of book one, JB says that he won’t do
the same thing twice. True to his word (and mine) Rabbit in Red challenges returning
and new characters alike with something called Hellfire. I won’t tell you about
Hellfire yet. But rest assured, if it really existed, you’d need to change your
underwear by the time you finished it, IF you were able to finish.
“They will feel
pain.” This is a hint as to what Hellfire is all about. It’s also a clue as to
what the book is about. There are all kinds of pain.
“Not all will
survive.” I’m not killing off anyone to just kill them off. One challenge with
horror is that you expect death, and you don’t really feel anything for the
characters who died, right? What I want to do differently is get you to feel
for our characters. By the end of book two, my hope is that you will really
have grown with these characters, and WHEN (not if) some don’t survive, you’ll
feel for them. That’s true horror and tragedy in my book.
“It’s not a game.”
Book one ultimately centers on a game. Book two goes much deeper.
“It’s life or death.”
For real, baby.
“Who wants to
destroy Rabbit in Red?” Revenge, again!
“And what will our
heroes do to protect the ones they love?” More than just dealing with death, I
want this story to be about how horror-obsessed, fear-conquering fanatics
ultimately deal with those who try to hurt them. It could get messy. Very
messy.
Sound cool? If so,
help me spread the word. Like and share this story. Like and share my Facebook page. Tell everyone you know to read Rabbit in Red. Leave a review of it on
Amazon, Goodreads, or Barnes and Noble. All of those things help.
So when can you
expect book two?
Well, my process is long (not George R.R. Martin long, but I try to be patient
for quality). First, I write the book (finished the draft last July). Then I
don’t look at it for a couple of months. Then I re-read it, mark it up, tear it
apart myself. Then I re-write it. Then it goes to a trusted team of beta
readers, and I ask them to do tear it apart, ask me lots of questions, and give
me their best feedback (this part is happening over a top secret lunch this
coming weekend, so I’m getting close to the end!). Then I re-write it again.
Then it goes to my professional editor. Then we re-write again. Then it gets
published. Maybe it could be out this summer. Or maybe it will be an annual
Halloween release :)
It’s more important
that I give you my best, though, no matter what.
How about a little
excerpt? Keep in mind it’s a work in progress. Here are two short blurbs from
the opening that I hope tease you. Thanks for reading and supporting. Enjoy!
“Burn
the rabbit,” the man whispered. “If that’s what you want, JB, that’s what
you’ll get.” He grinned at himself in the mirror, not bothered one bit by his
yellow-stained teeth. He could clean up nice when he had to do so, and he had
more than one costume in his closet. He could become anyone he wanted to be.
Then why do you stay you?
Shut up!
His
thoughts yelled back and forth at one another. He turned on the water in the
shower and waited until it got as hot as it could. He took off his clothes and
looked in the mirror.
Would Jaime like this sight?
He
rubbed his chest, feeling the muscles that could pin Jaime to the ground—no,
that would pin her to the ground! His hand glided over his belly. Oh, yes. This was the treasure he’d give her, and she was going to love it.
*****
Bill
heard a loud thud from outside. It sounded like someone had smashed the front
door. He dropped his phone and ran out front, his mother and grandparents
behind him. They were immediately blinded by flames, and Bill’s mom screamed.
“I’m
calling the police,” his grandfather stated.
Bill
just stared, speechless. Someone had slammed an axe into their front door and
lit it on fire. Through the flames, he could see a message that had been
written on the axe, a message certainly intended for him. He swallowed hard as
he read it.
In October
2015, I met John Phillips, author of Comfortably Nowhere.
Phillips read from various poems and short stories at my Get Lit. night at Lit on Fire Used Books in Peoria. This
month, Phillips is the featured author. On Wednesday January 20, you can pop in
at Lit. on Fire between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. to share your work—poetry,
prose, song, or any creation. It’s BYOB and offers an incredibly welcoming and
supportive atmosphere. Around 8:00 p.m. Phillips will take the stage where he
will read original work and offer his insights on writing and publishing.
Phillips read original work at my Get Lit. night in October!
Phillips
lives in central Illinois and writes poems and short stories. Most notably,
he’s the author of Comfortably
Nowhere, which he
describes as a screenplay turned novel extravaganza. It’s both comedy and
drama, and it’s available for purchase at Lit. on Fire Used Books, so you can
snag a copy and get an autograph when you Get Lit.
He enjoys
writing comedy and horror, as they can complement one another quite well,
although his definition of horror is unique. For example, he describes horror
as being stuck in a room with someone who is talking about something very
uninteresting (my students can probably relate to that, John).
Phillips
is currently working on a short story collection. He has written at least forty
stories for the collection and has a few more on the way.
Here are a
few additional questions I asked Phillips.
What’s your favorite book?
My
favorite book is The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. It has
this great absurdist story for most of the book before completely shifting
gears towards the end. I also really like Jonathan Carroll's Land of
Laughs, which is about a couple who go to the hometown of their favorite
children's book author, only to discover a nightmare. Another favorite is
Katherine Dunn's Geek Love, which is about a circus which slowly
transforms into a cult. I also like the poetry of Charles Bukowski. Last
Night of the Earth Poems and War All the Time are
some of my favorite books of his.
What’s one of your favorite lines from your work?
"Jeff
walked the aisles collecting more worthless crap into his cart. One thought
repeated in his mind "Must buy more worthless crap."" From the
short story "Blackest Friday," which is about shopping on
Thanksgiving.
How did you publish Comfortably Nowhere?
For
publishing Comfortably Nowhere, I decided to go the self-publishing
route. It just seemed easier as Comfortably Nowhere is
actually a screenplay, and I don't really know of too many publishers putting
out screenplays for never realized indie films. That and I was really proud of
what I had accomplished, and just wanted to share it with people on my own terms.
What advice do you have for other writers?
If another
writer asked for advice I'd say the best material you'll write is the stuff you
haven't thought of yet. I've found that I very seldom like a piece that I've
spent a lot of time thinking about. But for the stuff that just comes to me and
I get it down on paper quickly, that's the kind of stuff I feel to be my
strongest material. I guess I'm trying to say keep an open mind and never be
too precious about your writing, because that can really hold you back.
What advice do you have for those who wish to be published
someday?
It's a
fight. But it's a fight worth experiencing. It'll not only strengthen you as a
writer, but hopefully as a person (as well as provide you with more material to
write about).
What’s next on your to-read list?
Next I'm
going to read The Manuscript Found In Saragossa by Polish
author Jan Potocki. I don't know much about the book other than it's supposed
to deal with secret societies, conspiracies and the supernatural, so it sounds
like a real winner to me.
What inspires you to write?
Daily
events inspire me to write. I'll see or hear someone playing the fool or acting
self-delusional and I'll write something satirizing that. A lot of my writing,
recently at least, has come from people not realizing how they are acting.
Hearing someone express disappointment that there are no stores to shop at on
Christmas day or listening to a girl argue with her boyfriend about how
"we never fight enough" give me enough material to keep on writing.
What other passions do you have besides writing?
Aside from
books and writing I also really like movies. I like art films and foreign
films, but recently I've really been into independent horror movies made from
the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. There's lots of gory little treasures like
"Nightmares In a Damaged Brain," "Don't Go In the House"
and "Last House on Dead End Street" made during that time. I also
really like world music, starting with early ska and reggae from Jamaica then
moving to stuff like American funk and soul music before going out to places
like India for psychedelic funk or Nigeria for Afrobeat music.
What’s the hardest thing about writing?
The
hardest part about writing is waiting for the idea to come to you. Sometimes
it'll come to you quickly, but other times you'll have to wait.
What’s the most rewarding thing about writing?
The idea
of creating something that wasn't there before.
Do you have a favorite character that you’ve written?
I think
the characters of Reilly and Oliver from Comfortably Nowhere would
be among my favorite characters that I've written. They're both youthful,
creative types that work well off each other: Reilly is a writer who doesn't
know it yet and Oliver does all these obscure art projects like paint random
sayings on realtor yard signs that he's stolen and places them in people's
front yards. They’re both such oddballs and you don't know what either is going
to do next. Also, there's two characters from a short story called "Babe
Beer." Both characters are nothing more than foils to keep the story
moving along and they both find out in the end that they are living in a beer
commercial. It was really fun writing two characters who were so vacuous.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
I would choose telepathy. But I
would want to have already mastered this ability. I wouldn't want to be driven
insane with people's thoughts or anything like that.
During the
Get Lit. with Author John Phillips event, he’ll be talking about the history of Comfortably
Nowhere. It started as an experience with him and a few friends trying to
make it an independent film and then becoming the book he published. He will
also talk about how much more h came to appreciate writing and literature while
working on his book, and how he continued to keep on writing once Comfortably
Nowhere was finished and published. He will also be reading some poems
and short stories for the event.
RSVP to the Facebook event here, and be sure to share it and
invite your friends!
About me:
Joe Chianakas is the author of the novel Rabbit in Red and is a professor of communication at Illinois Central
College. Follow him on Facebook here.
I’ve got an exciting
new announcement, a new creative endeavor I’m beginning, and I want to announce
it here first!
I’m hosting a new
online talk show—a LIVE event twice a month that I’m calling “All in the
Reflexes.”
Let me tell why I’m
doing this, what it’s all about, and a few things I hope you will do to help be
a part of it!
THE WHY
I’m a teacher and an
author, and these are two unique but not completely disconnected passions. In
short, I started thinking about ways to combine my passions.
I have a long list
of Facebook friends who are podcasters. That’s wonderful, and I’ve long wanted
to do something like that, but I hate to be the 100th guy you know
who is starting his own podcast.
I also have been the
guest of different podcasts and radio interviews. My favorite was Jim Sullivan’s
Poets’ Voices. Sullivan is a colleague of mine, and he devoted each of his
episodes to a different writer. He’s a writer himself, but his show was devoted
to others. A lot of the shows I enjoy may feature interviews, but they also are
largely about the hosts’ thoughts and passions. Nothing wrong with that, but I
don’t want to be the last guy to that party.
So I started thinking:
what else could I do besides a podcast or a blog (like this) or even a video
blog? How annoyed have you been when you search for a song or something on
YouTube only to find an obnoxious face talking to you about that song? I don’t
want to be that guy, either.
So put all of the
above together:
1. I have a talent in
communication that I want to expand on and do more with outside of the
classroom.
2. I want to do a
program that features OTHERS, other people with great passions and talents that
I would enjoy discussing. I could use my social media reach and author
platforms to share their stories with my audience.
3. I want to do
something that’s NOT a podcast, blog, or just me talking into my webcam.
THE RESULT
A LIVE VIDEO TALK SHOW!
Each episode I do
will stream LIVE through YouTube. You’ll be able to watch them later, but I love the live
component. No editing, no do-overs, just fun and LIVE discussion!
The show will
feature a new guest each episode. Initially, I want to highlight college students
that I’ve had the privilege to work with. I want to talk about their passions
and talents, and give them a medium in which to speak about such things.
The show will be a
mix of serious to silly. Ideally, each episode will feature a serious discussion,
a silly/obnoxious game that we will do LIVE that will probably go horribly
wrong, a fun discussion on something pop culture related, and more.
You’ll be able to
comment during the show, and we’ll be able to see and read your comments LIVE
each episode. I’ll have games and prizes to give away for anyone who is
watching, too!
Sound fun? I hope
so!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Lots of things!
Want to be a guest? Go
here and fill out the form on my website. Know someone who would make a good
guest? Tell them about it!
WATCH! You can start
by subscribing to my YouTube channel HERE. And of course—follow me on Facebook
HERE. Links will go live when we’re on-air! You can RSVP to THIS FACEBOOK EVENT so you get a reminder of when the show launches.
SHARE! Share this
blog article. I’ve got about 24 days till the first episode. If you see things
like the Facebook event invite and other stories, share and invite your
friends!
What I love about
technology today is that it gives any of us this power, so let’s share some love
and take a moment to learn about the passionate and talented people we have in
our own community!
THE FIRST EPISODE
The show starts
Wednesday January 13, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. Central. My first guest is a current
student of mine at Illinois Central College, Ruben Ramirez. Ruben will be
taking his fourth college class with me next semester. (Yes, you can feel sorry
for him, ha!)
I met Ruben in COMM
110, an introductory COMM course in the fall of 2014. He’s a motivating and
talented young man with quite a unique back story and several diverse passions.
Since that first class, Ruben has enrolled in almost every class I’ve taught,
and we’ve gone beyond the classroom in our lessons. Ruben has accompanied me at
motivational programs at several area schools. He wants to be a motivational
speaker, and he will make a perfect first guest on this show.
I’ll be writing more
about Ruben before the first episode, so keep an eye out for that post.
Ruben speaking to East Peoria High students.
ALL IN THE REFLEXES
Like the name of my
book Rabbit in Red, the name of this
show is also a pop culture reference to one of my favorite movies. It will
likely be a (rather easy) viewer trivia question during the first episode. But
it also fits the theme perfectly. LIVE shows require a good back and forth, a
good “reflex” for discussion.
I hope you’ll tune
in to see what we come up with!
