Trace & Solomon: Torrington

By Sarah L. Johnson & Robert Bose

We wrote a new thing!

Read the review HERE!

Welcome to Torrington, Alberta. A wide spot in the blacktop, home to the world-famous Gopher Hole Museum above, and a massive convergence of mystical energy below. When a rogue exorcist acquires a soul translocating relic, the Vatican reluctantly – very reluctantly – turns to the only mercenaries capable of taking it back. The hard-drinking, double-crossing, catastrophe-courting mercenaries that sold it to him in the first place.

Trace and Solomon ought to know better. Church work is always a handshake with the Devil, but this time there’s more than money on the line, and it forces them to question what matters most. In this life, and the next.

Available at: AmazonAmazon CanadaKobo

Current Mischief – November 2019

WHAT’S NEW

Wow, it’s been a year since I updated this poor site. Not going to promise to do better because… yeah. Way too many other priorities at the moment.

2019 has been an amazing year thus far. The big news, of course, is that I started a micro horror press with the illustrious Sarah L. Johnson called The Seventh Terrace.

Our first book is a collaboration called Terrace VII: Wall of Fire. It’s a dark little beast. Pick it up and tell us what you think.

WRITING

After a busy summer I managed to get back to some serious writing, both on my novel in progress and numerous short stories. Some great stuff in the pipe that will hopefully find a home ‘out there’ somewhere or in my next collection that’s slowly congealing.

This year I had a couple of short stories published:

  • The King on the Beer Bottle Throne – in Black Dog Review #3
  • Essential Services – in The Stories We Hide: Enigma Front #5

Also had my story, The Last Wave, short listed for the 2019 Raven Short Story Contest at Pulp Literature. Super cool!

EDITING/PUBLISHING

The publishing business is crazy you know? The four books I’ve been working on over the last eighteen months all ended up being released in a late October and early November. Just the way things roll sometimes. Fabulous books, each and every one.

Some cool stuff planned and in the pipe for 2020 – stay tuned!

RUNNING

I ran. A lot. Kept the wheels on for the most part, stayed sane, and found adventure with the best of friends.

Races:

  • Frozen Ass 50 km (February)
  • Calgary Marathon 50 km (May)
  • River Revenge 100 km (June)
  • The Great Canadian Death Race 125 km (August)
  • Lost Soul 100 km (September)

Just getting sorted for 2020. Should be epic.

Baby It’s Cold Outside

♥ ♥ ♥

My latest anthology from Coffin Hop Press is a delicious collection of  Holiday Horror, Christmas Crime and Yuletide Woe!

The fourteen stories in this book are as varied as their authors, with one thing in common: exploring the dark side of that most wonderful time of year. They’ll light your menorahs, stuff your stockings, and keep you warm through those long winter nights.

Featuring deliciously shocking stories from:

  • E.C. Bell – That Old A-Wassailing Scam
  • Alex Benarzi – Nerium
  • Rob Brunet – Blown
  • Chris Patrick Carolan – Circle of Steel
  • M. Jane Colette – Violets
  • S.A Cosby – Sweet Baby Jesus
  • Meredith Frazier – Brother’s Keeper
  • Therese Greenwood – The Power Man
  • Jim Jackson – King Wong & the Mistress of Christmas
  • Claude Lalumière – The Fixer, the Cop, His Ex, and Her Killer
  • Liam Sweeny – Christmas Confessions
  • Kevin P. Thornton – The Shih Tzu’s Present
  • Darusha Wehm – Mistletoe & Holly
  • Sam Weibe – In the Dead of Winter

♥ ♥ ♥

Edited by Sarah L. Johnson and Robert Bose, with a fabulous cover by the Axel Howerton.

♥ ♥ ♥

Pick it up now at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca or Kobo

Enigma Front: Onward

Onward

This fantastic new anthology contains my latest short story, ‘One Foot in the Grave’, about a squad of soldiers on a perilous rescue mission.

⊗ ⊗ ⊗

We’re living in troubling times. World leaders squabbling like schoolchildren on Twitter. Persistent grim economic forecasts. Unprecedented environmental disasters. Avocado toast. It’s rough out there. Featuring 21 stories from members of the Imaginative Fiction Writers Association, ENIGMA FRONT: ONWARD turns a hopeful eye to the future and the past, to worlds real and imagined. Worlds in peril, worlds in their prime, and worlds on the edge of rebirth. Worlds inhabited by curious aliens and helpful Fae folk, by Golden Age heroes and rebellious robots, and by the regular people doing their best to get through it all. Now… ONWARD!

by Chris Patrick Carolan (Author/Editor), Calvin D. Jim (Author), Renee Bennett (Author), Brent Nichols(Author), Alecyn Lea (Author), Kevin Weir (Author), Adria Laycraft (Author), Mark Phillip Ross(Author), Dale McShannock (Author), Lucas K. Law (Author), Katie Harse (Author), Robert Bose(Author), Robert J. Sawyer (Author), Christopher M. Chupik (Author), Celeste A. Peters (Author), Chris Marrs (Author), James Grotkowski (Author), Dan M. Hampton (Author), Elizabeth Grotkowski (Author), Ashton Noone (Author), P. J. Vernon (Author)

⊗ ⊗ ⊗

Available in digital and paperback at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com

Current Mischief – January 6th, 2018

The News

Survived 2017 and another holiday season, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, an all that. 2017 was insane, getting Fishing with the Devil completed and published, joining Coffin Hop Press, editing and publishing some fantastic work including Con Morte, Manchester Vice, and It’s a Weird Winter Wonderland. I made a pile of great new friends, learned a crap ton about the publishing industry, ran some brutal ultra-marathon trail races, and had a blast doing all of it.

Now it’s 2018 and I’m pretty stoked with what’s in the pipe. We have at least seven great books coming out and I’ve signed up for even nastier trail races. It won’t be dull, I can guarantee that!

Writing

The last couple months were about coming up with crazy shit. Polished off Well Hung, the first Winston and Wu story for my Tales from the Double-W Pawn Shop book, and plotted out the rest of the book. Wrote a couple of fun stories for personal audiences including another episode of my yearly Christmas homage for the folks at work and a messed up piece, about a nasty little critter, for a dear friend.

Once I complete some editing projects and a possible sci-fi story for Enigma Front: Onward, I’ll get back to chipping away at No Joy (a full length Tagger Boone novel) and more Winston and Wu shorts.

Editing

Lots of editing work for Coffin Hop Press including turning the gears on Rocket Ryder and Little Putt-Putt Go Down Swinging and Killing Mr. Edwards.

I’m also happy to be assisting on the 2018 IFWA anthology entitled Enigma Front: Onward. This year Chris Carolan has stepped up to publish it and he’s set up an Indiegogo campaign, with one of the tiers a critique from yours truly. If you can, toss a few bucks towards this great project.

Upcoming Events

Look for these fantastic events over the next few months.

Bloody Offensive 2018
Wednesday, February 14th, 2018 (7pm-9pm)
Coffin Hop Press will be sponsoring this year’s Bloody Offensive event at The Owl’s Nest. Will it live up to last years? Only time will tell.

bloody offensive banner

♦♦♦

Infractus/Rocket Ryder and Little Putt Putt Go Down Swinging/Killing Mr. Edwards Launch
Thursday, April 19th, 2018 (7pm-9pm)

Coffin Hop Press will be officially launching our Spring titles at cSPACE King Edward this year. It’s going to be a fantastic party with drinks, food, readings, and lots of mischief. Not to be missed!

InfractusRocket RyderKilling Mr. Edwards

Running

Winter’s always been my off-season where I laze around the house, eat my weight in butter tarts, and generally turn into a fat slob. Not this year! With the demanding race schedule I’m planning for 2018, I figured I’d better my shit into high gear. In order to facilitate high gear shit, I joined the Strides Run Streak, a fun event that challenges you to run a mile every day during the month of December. Of course, being me and, uh, insane, my minimum target was 10 kilometers a day. I ran through the bloody snow and cold and ended grinding 367 kilometers with only minor injuries to body and spirit. I’ll definitely be doing that again next year!

2018 Run Streak

Upcoming Running Events

My 2018 race schedule is starting to shape up and it’s going to be both challenging and rewarding. Must… lose… weight…

♥ ♥ ♥

Cheers!
Rob

It’s a Weird Winter Wonderland

It's a Weird Winter Wonderland

Get ready to unwrap that present early this year! Stuff your festive stockings with this collection of the weirdest, wildest holiday fiction this side of Charlie’s Dickens. Get your bells jingling and jangling with these tales of mistletoe madness, festive fury, and holiday havoc from some of the most bizarre minds in fiction!

Featuring:

Steve Brewer (Jackie Nolan series; Side Eye)
Sarah L. Johnson (Suicide Stitch; Infractus)
David James Keaton (The Last Projector; Stealing Propeller Hats from the Dead)
Jessica McHugh (Pins; Rabbits in the Garden)
Brent Nichols (Stars Like Cold Fire; Black Dragon Blues)
Scott S. Phillips (Pete, Drinker of Blood; Gun Up)
Will Viharo (Vic Valentine series; A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge)
Laurie Zottman (Dark Little Therapist)

Edited by myself and home town anti-hero Axel Howerton, with a fantastic cover by the esteemed Tom Bagley.

♥ ♥ ♥

Pick it up now at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca or Kobo

 

Current Mischief – October 24th, 2017

The News

I’m happy to say my book launch for Fishing with the Devil was a roaring success. We had great music, an awesome venue, a fantastic crowd, and… books. Lots and lots of books. A huge thanks to Hanging Judge and Owl’s Nest Books and Coffin Hop Press and all my friends and family for making it one for the ages.

♦♦♦

Rick and the boys from Hanging Judge blasted some tunes.

Hanging Judge at FwtD Launch

Sarah gave a cool introduction, I talked a little about the book, and then read from A Dead Reckoning. Then Axel gave talked about Coffin Hop Press and read from his brilliant new Noirvella, Con Morte.

Fishing with the Devil Launch

We sold a pile of books and managed to claw our way to the top of the Calgary Best Sellers List for the week!

FwhD Best Sellers List

 

Other Cool News

I was recently interviewed by Joshua Pantalleresco for his Just Joshing Podcast. We had a fun chat, so grab it from his site or iTunes and give it (and all the other great interviews he’s done) a listen.

Just Joshing

 

Writing

I finally finished and polished up a surfing-mythology infused story called The Last Wave. Now it’s time to find a home for it. I’m still grinding away on No Joy (a full length Tagger Boone novel) and Well Hung, the first piece for Tales from the Double-W Pawn Shop, my Winston and Wu story book. Also work on another short story collection about death titled Die Jobs and other Invariabilities. Oh, and I started a new sci-fi story tentatively called M33.

Editing

Lots of editing work for Coffin Hop Press with the finished products coming out in November. Look for Manchester Vice and It’s a Weird Winter Wonderland.

Upcoming Events

Some Funtacular events coming down the pipe.

Halloween Eve at Signal Hill Indigo
Monday, October 30th, 2017 (6pm-9pm)
Coffin Hop Press will be attending the Halloween Eve event at Signal Hill Indigo. It’s a fundraiser for WWC so come on down, chat us up, and buy some books for a great cause.

Halloween Eve at Signal Hill Indigo

Manchester Vice/Weird Winter Wonderland Launch
Thursday, November 16th, 2017 (7pm-9pm)

Coffin Hop Press will be officially launching Manchester Vice by Jack Strange and the twisted anthology It’s a Weird Winter Wonderland by seven fantastic authors, at the Owls Nest. It’ll be a fun party with drinks, snacks, readings, and most certainly mischief. Come on down!

Nov Launch 2017

Running

I’ve been healing up and rebuilding after my hard summer races, so I haven’t been pushing to many miles. I did run the local Harvest Half Marathon on September 30th, however, and set out determined to make amends for the pain that was Lost Soul. It was a beautiful, perfect day and I’m happy to say I was flying in my new Hoka ultra-cushioned trail shoes. I had one of my best half’s in many, many years.

Harvest Half 2017

Upcoming Running Events

The next body smashing ultra will be in February (Frozen Ass 50) and Steve and I are in the midst of planning some big races for for 2018. Stay tuned!

♥ ♥ ♥

Cheers!
Rob

Current Mischief – September 12th, 2017

The News

When Words Collide (WWC) 2017 has come and gone. I had a brilliant time with all my friends, made all kinds of new friends, and most likely frightened the bejesus out of everyone else. I participated in a fun panel about mythology in speculative fiction, a number of fantastic book socials, a couple of cool pitch sessions with Coffin Hop Press, and a blue pencil session where I gave all sorts of unhelpful (I suspect) feedback on other author’s work.

My new book, Fishing with the Devil, garnered a bit of soft launch interest. Check it out if you haven’t already and come to the official launch on September 28th at the Owl’s Nest (info below).

RustEnigma Front: The Monster Within was also released at the convention with my dark sci-fi story Secrets and Lies. It’s about a conflicted soldier willing to sacrifice everything to unearth ancient forbidden memories. Fun stuff so check that out if it sounds like your thing.

In other cool news, I was recently interviewed by Joshua Pantalleresco for his Just Joshing Podcast. We had a cool chat, so watch for it to be released sometime soon.

Writing

I haven’t had a lot of time to write over the summer (I’ve been spending my time editing and working books for Coffin Hop) but I’m still chipping away at No Joy (a full length Tagger Boone novel) and Tales from the Double-W Pawn Shop, my Winston and Wu story book. I’ve also started assembling stories for another short story collection about death tentatively titled Die Jobs.

Upcoming Events

CHIseries Calgary – Thursday, September 21st, 2017 (7pm-9pm)
I’ve been invited to participate in the fall instalment of the The Chiaroscuro Reading Series (along with Craig DiLouie and Axel Howerton) hosted by the queen of darkness herself, Sarah L. Johnson. Come on down to Buffalo Bob’s Canadian Pub and listen to us read some horrible (but in a good way) stories.

chi_series_calgary_sept_2017

Fishing with the Devil Launch – Thursday, September 28th, 2017 (7pm-9pm)
Coffin Hop will be officially launching Fishing with the Devil along with Axel Howerton’s noirvella masterpiece, Con Morte, at the Owls Nest. It’ll be a fun party with drinks, snacks, readings, and most certainly mischief. Come on down!

Sept Launch 2017

Running

The last few weeks contained two damn tough races, but I had fun and learned important lessons – namely to leave more than three weeks before long, hard races and do more heat training.

On August 19th I ran the Squamish 50 (Miles). The weather was fantastic (21C) and I was well trained up, both mentally and physically. Since it was my first attempt at a 50 mile (80 kilometer) race, I wasn’t sure how my body would handle it, but aside from expected fatigue and some crazy bladder issues, it went fantastic and I completed it in a little over 14 hours.

Squamish 50 2017

Then, three weeks later on September 8th, I ran the Lost Soul (100 kilometer distance). I’ve done his race twice before: the 50 km distance in 2014 and 54 km in 2015 when I paced my buddy Steve on his 100 mile slogfest. While I knew the course well, I was still beat up from Squamish but figured I could push past that and complete my first 100 km race. Sadly, it was not to be. The weather was rough, a 35C day (40C+ in the bottom of the river valley) with thick smoke blowing in from Waterton. The air quality was terrible and the heat ended up ripping the life out of me. Combined with already weary bones and sore feet, I decided to drop at 62 km when my heat exhaustion approached a full blown heatstroke. Not worth killing myself over. I’ll be back in a couple of years to try again!

Lost Soul 2017

Upcoming Running Events

No body smashing ultra’s until at least February (Frozen Ass 50), but I’ll be running the local Harvest Half Marathon on September 30th,

♥ ♥ ♥

Cheers!
Rob