Apocalypse Monday

Since it's Halloween, let's go with a more light-hearted approach to the end of the world.

November and December Appearances

On November 6, from 9AM to 2PM, myself and fellow Dark Alley writers Mitch Hymen, John Catapano, and Tyson Hanks will be signing books at the Rabbit Hole Bookstore on Montrose Avenue in Clermont, Florida. Not only will we be signing books, we will also be hosting several writing-related panels and readings. This is a very family-friendly event, so come on by and bring the kids.

Two weeks later, on Sunday, 20 November, from 10AM to 5PM, the same Dark Alley crew will be attending Clermont Comic Con at the Clermont Performing Arts Center.

Finally, from 2-4 December, the entire Dark Alley crew will be attending Spooky Empire at the Orlando Civics Center. This is the make-up date for the convention closed down in October by Hurricane Matthew. We may not be rocking it for Halloween, but this is the perfect opportunity to pick up Scaremas gifts for all the bad little boils and ghouls on your Horriday shopping list.

Pictures From Our Trip to Germany and Poland: Operation Valkyrie

One of our primary reasons for going to Germany and Poland this time was to see the locations associated with Operation Valkyrie -- the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944. For anyone unfamiliar with this event, watch Valkyrie with Tom Cruise. It's historically accurate with only a few changes made for dramatic effect.

These are the remains of the Lagebaracke, the conference room at Hitler's forward headquarters in Wolfschanze, just outside of Rastenberg (now Gierloz), Poland, where Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg set off the bomb that was intended to kill Hitler. Unfortunately for Stauffenberg, the meeting on 20 July was not held in the main bunker but in a smaller barracks with windows where the ventilation was better. The wooden ceiling and windows absorbed the blast, allowing Hitler to escape with only minor injuries. (The remains of the Lagebaracke were destroyed by the SS, along with every other building on the compound, when Wolfschanze was evacuated in the advance of the Soviet Army.)

The interior of the Lagebaracke after the blast.

Me at the Lagebaracke.
  

The Bendlerblock in Berlin where Stauffenberg and the rest of the Valkyrie resistance members had their offices. When the attempt to remove Hitler and the SS from power failed, Stauffenberg and the others made their last stand inside this building.

The courtyard of the Bendlerblock. After German troops loyal to Hitler took control of the building, General Friedrich Fromm, who had been aware of Valkyrie but said nothing, hoping to keep open his political options, ordered the immediate execution of Stauffenberg and the other leaders of the resistance (General Olbricht, Colonel Quirnheim, Oberleutnant Haeften, and former General Beck) to conceal his knowledge of the plot. The five men were shot in the courtyard where the black marble strip is located. For those who have watched the movie, the balcony above the doors to the right is where Fromm (played by Tom Wilkinson) watches the executions. Fromm was arrested on 21 July and executed on 19 March 1945 for not doing more to stop the plot.

The statue in the courtyard commemorating those who lost their lives in the 20 July resistance movement.

Plotzensee Prison, where ninety members of the resistance movement were executed for their participation in the 20 July plot.

The execution chamber inside Plotzensee. Members of the 20 July resistance movement were hanged with piano wire on the hooks at the far end of the hall. The piano wire was wrapped around their necks and they were slowly lifted off the ground until they strangled to death. A video was made of their suffering and shown to Hitler for his entertainment.

 






















A close-up of the hooks.

Later in the afternoon on 20 July, Benito Mussolini arrived at Wolfschanze. Hitler greeted the former Italian dictator at the train station.

Me standing at the same location as it looks today.

[Next week: Berlin: The Adlon Hotel, Salon Kitty, and Karlshorst.]

Last Few Days of the Vampire Books for Blood Charity Event

We are approaching the last few days of the Vampire Books for Blood charity event. A contest is being held to see who will win something awesome. Just go over to the #VB4B Facebook page and tell them what you enjoyed most about the month -- the comment with the most "likes" before Halloween wins the amazing prize. 

Let me give a shout out to all the vampire lovers out there. You have made this event a huge success, and all of us who are participating appreciate that. Let's go out with a bang, like a ray of sunlight into a nest of the undead, Please buy at least one more book before the 31st. It doesn't have to be mine (although that would be nice). Give into your inner desires and buy that book you've been sitting on the fence about. Indulge yourself, or give it as a gift to a friend. Or even better, buy dozens and give them out to Trick or Treaters (although that may not make the neighborhood parents happy). 
 
And please tell your fang loving friends about it and have them drop by before it's over.

Thank you.

Apocalypse Monday

With all the talk since last Thursday about nuclear weapons and who should have their button on the trigger, how could I not post a nuclear apocalypse piece of artwork.

Authors Talk About It Review of Yeitso

Yeitso was entered in the Authors Talk About It 2016 Horror Contest, the results of which will be announced soon. The book received four out of five stars and the following review: 

In Scott M. Baker’s Yeitso, Russel Andrews has left his tumultuous career as a detective in New York City to take up the position of Police Chief in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He had hoped the move might prove to be peaceful for him and his teenage daughter, Kiera. However, on Russel’s first day on the job, he is greeted by a mysterious crime scene and a heinous murder, as well as the looming dread of a missing teenager. As the clues begin to unravel, it is clear that this isn’t the work of ordinary humans; a dark, unseen force did this, one known by the local Native American tribes only as “Yeitso.”

Despite being a horror novel, Yeitso didn’t quite live up to that genre as well as it could have. It definitely started off great, but then seemed to stray into the buddy cop/mystery dynamic for a while. However, the concept and suspense throughout helped to drive the story along until the horror picked back up again, and it payed off, without a doubt. Perhaps die-hard fans of conventional horror novels may not find it to be immediately gratifying, but that’s not to say that Yeitso was disappointing, because it most certainly wasn’t. 

Scott M. Baker writes with plenty of intrigue and imagery, developing Yeitso into a well-written and well-rounded novel. The characters were personified so well that they seemed real and believable, which added to the overall likability of the story as a whole. It also seemed to be exactly the sort of novel that would make an excellent film, with just enough twists and turns to really leave a memorable impression on the reader (or perhaps, someday, viewer). Overall, Yeitso was a fantastic book with almost no faults, and one that would surely prove enjoyable for almost any reader. 

You can read the reviews of all the entries here.

Link to Tonight's Twisted Southern Horror Queen Radio Show

Many thanks to Lyn Gibson for having me as a guest on the Twisted Southern Horror Queen radio show. I had a great time. If you missed the broadcast, the link to the show is here.

Apocalypse Monday

A certain book was released this weekend, a portion of which takes place in Paris, so I thought this particular piece of artwork was appropriate.

On 17 October I Will Be a Guest on The Twisted Southern Horror Queen Radio Show

Tomorrow night, 17 October, I will be a quest on fellow Dark Alley writer Lyn Gibson's radio show The Twisted Southern Horror Queen. So tune in to the Armed Radio Global Network at 7PM CST (8PM EST) to hear the Twisted South Horror Queen chat with the demented mind from the northeast. I promise it will be an interesting evening. See you then.

Reminder: I'll Be Signing Books at the Book Warehouse in the Artegon Marketplace Today

Today from 2-4 PM, myself and fellow Dark Alley writers Melissa Gibbo and Tyson Hanks will be signing copies of our books at the Book Warehouse in the Artegon Marketplace at 5250 International Drive in Orlando, Florida. Swing by and say hello, and pick up some great books to scare the pants off you in time for Halloween.   

Apocalypse Monday

Since I'm doing some revisions on a book that takes place in Russia, I thought I would post this post-apocalyptic piece of artwork of a devastated Moscow.

Spooky Empire Has Been Cancelled; I Will Still Be Attending the Vampire Authors Celebration on Sunday

I just received word that Spooky Empire has been cancelled because of Hurricane Matthew. The organizers were concerned about the safety of celebrities, vendors, and guests trying to get in with the hurricane approaching, which was a tough but wise decision. We'll just have to party twice as hard in May. You can read the details about the cancelling of Spooky Empire here.

I will still be hosting an hour segment of the Vampire Writers Support Group's Vampire Authors Celebration on Sunday night, 9 October, from 10-11PM EST. Below is a list of all the vampire writers who are participating in this weekend event and the times they will be hosting. I hope to see you there.

Friday, Oct. 7
3:00-4:00 PM - David MacDowell Blue
4:00-5:00 PM - Jessica Gomez
5:00-6:00 PM - Jade M. Phillips
6:00-7:00 PM - H.N. Sieverding
7:00-8:00 PM - Laura Daleo
8:00-9:00 PM - Brian McKinley
9:00-10:00 PM – Dan Schaurette
10:00-11:00 PM - Steven Evans
11:00-12:00 AM - Alathia Morgan

Saturday, Oct. 8
12:00-1:00 PM - Rob Ferreri
1:00-2:00 PM - Rob Ferrerri
2:00-3:00 PM - Mark McQuillen
3:00-4:00 PM - James Brewer
4:00-5:00 PM - Amanda Marie
5:00-6:00 PM - T.B. Bond
6:00-7:00 PM - Dzintra Sullivan
7:00-8:00 PM - Jennifer Brown
8:00-9:00 PM - Joleene Naylor
9:00-10:00 PM – Karen Taylor-Gallagher
10:00-11:00 PM - R.E. Carr
11:00-12:00 AM - Morven Westfield

Sunday, Oct. 9
12:00-1:00 PM - Destiny Hawkins
1:00-2:00 PM - Andy Bove
2:00-3:00 PM - Juliette King
3:00-4:00 PM - Alex Carey
4:00-5:00 PM - Bev Black-Alexis Kennedy
5:00-6:00 PM - Maggie Anderson
6:00-7:00 PM - Claudette Nicole Melanson
7:00-8:00 PM - Tima Maria Lacoba
8:00-9:00 PM - Danielle DeVor
9:00-10:00 PM - Susanne Leist
10:00-11:00 PM - Scott Baker
11:00-12:00 AM - Brian McKinley

I'm Going Undercover

Well, only partially.

I have two new series that are coming out soon. The first, which is in the final stages of production, is a series of dark techno-thrillers that will take our contemporary military warfare capabilities and use them in the most inhuman ways possible, showing man's ability to inflict unspeakable horror on humanity. The other is a young adult post-apocalyptic series. While both of these are great series and, in my opinion, some of my best work yet, I've had concerns about running both simultaneously. The techno-thrillers will be hard R rated, with blood, gore, and foul language appropriate to the genre. The young adult series will be action packed and horrifying, but everything in those books will be kept at a PG-13 level. I'll be writing for two different audiences, and don't want any crossover from one to distract from the other. After giving this careful consideration and talking with my publisher, I've decided that the best option is to go undercover--in the literary sense.

I will be publishing the Hell Gate saga under the pseudonym Josh Matthews. 

Any of you who are interested in following my young adult series, you can do so either through my Hell Gate Facebook and Twitter accounts, or through my "covert" website Hell Gate Saga.

For those of you who do join me over on these sites, please don't blow my cover. It's not like you'll reveal my secret identity to the Joker and create anarchy in Gotham City, or get me arrested by a Communist country that will throw me into a gulag before being exchanged for another writer on a bridge in Berlin. For now, however, I want to keep these two personae separate.

Thank you, and see you on the other side.

Apocalypse Monday

Let's go to the dark side of the apocalypse today with All Is Lost by Yaroslav Odnorogov.