Fall In Love With Me

For a unknown indie author, I have many friends and colleagues to thank for a tremendous 2012. My debut novella, Fables of the Reconstruction, has been recognized by so many. Reviewers have called the book "A whole new genre." "Original"  "Hypnotic" "An allegory" and said "Move over vampires, zombies are the next big thing."

In December, Fables of the Reconstruction, moved into the Top 50 internationally on the Horror/Occult charts on Amazon.com. Sales remain steady and yes, I have so many of you to thank. Following are a few of the awards/nominations my little monsters garnered:

Goodreads Rankings & Awards:  
#1   Best Unknown but must be Known
#1   Not Your Normal Zombie Book
#1   Help Me Pick My Next Read
#1   Good Books and Good Book Covers
#1   Best Indie Books of 2012

Goodreads Nominee: 
Indie Books - Paranormal Fiction (Top 5)
Kindle Book Reviews Best Indie Books of 2012 (Top 10)
Best Female Writers of Zombie Fiction (Top 10)
Best Books of 2012 (Top 50)
Books That Should Be Made Into Movies

Not only did Fables of the Reconstruction exceed all expectations, my first short story The Legend, the first in a series of experimental vignettes called Tales from a New Amsterdam traveled to #15 internationally on Amazon.

Expats Post (ExpatsPost.com) Dean Walker and MZ, also gave me free rein over a music blog beginning in December 2012. The blog has allowed me to work with up and coming musical talent such as Dax Lion, Kismet Ryding and Celly Black. I have also been fortunate enough to connect with Athens GA legends, the powerhouse supergroup Supercluster featuring the legendary alternative rock icon Vanessa Briscoe Hay,  the English Chanteuse Barb Jungr and Nashville's Americana rocker Donna Frost and blog on their very well respected careers.Look for exciting future blogs on more amazing musical artists in the next few months.

My personal blog, Exile on Peachtree Street, has been a revelation to me. Not only do I release a few personal insights but I have hosted such exciting new authors as Miranda Stork, Livia Ellis, Elodie Parkes, Laura DeLuca, Jonathan Dunne, Steve Christie, Nic Taylor, ER Pierce, Kenneth Weene and GL Giles. Sommer Marsden and Lucy Felthouse, two powerhouses in the world of erotica have joined me in exile. There again, many talented authors and poets are scheduled to join me in upcoming blogs throughout 2013, so watch this space.

This year is shaping itself to bring more literary exposure. Looks for another release in Tales from a New Amsterdam soon. On March 1, no less than Oxford American Literary (oxfordamerican.org) will host the cover reveal for book 2 in the Fables series: Reconstruction of the Fables. Then, on March 21, 2013, look for the highly anticipated anthology from Moon Rose Publishing, A Celtic Tapestry, which will include my short story, Magic in Memphis.

So, I leave you today with many thanks to you all and many positive vibes for 2013. And, instead of a Stones song, I leave you an Iggy Pop song. Fall in Love with Me. Why not? Everyone else has.

Exile on Peachtree Street

It has been one week since my ankle surgery. My real life remains mine, so I won’t tell you what the exact surgery was, however I will share with you that it wasn’t for anything life threatening-just life style threatening. And, now all the good drugs are gone…well the opioids at least. I will be confined to our condo for at least six more weeks. So, here I am, right in the middle of Hotlanta, and I can’t go anywhere.  It will probably be four months before I can actually begin anything close to what was once my normal life. The doctor says it will be a year before I return to normal activities. Whatever that means…

What these last few weeks since the accident have given me is the opportunity to create, which is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I have always written something, anything for anyone interested in publishing my stories. It just wasn’t my career. Now, I have the unique opportunity to explore through words what has always been lurking in the murky depths of my subconscious. I had absolutely no idea that I was so sick and twisted. I am one sick pup and it is great fun! Let’s just say I have been influenced by Anne Rice and Edgar Allan Poe much more so than Margaret Mitchell. I probably listened to a band called The Cramps a bit too much when I was a kid, too. Having a family cemetery probably figures in there somewhere, as well. But, those are all stories for another day!

One avenue I have been able to explore during my ‘Exile on Peachtree Street’ has been the world of the indie writers. Having spent the years of my incredible, folly filled youth in Nashville, I have long been accustomed to the camaraderie of the indie music scene. Now, I have discovered that the indie writer’s scene is just as creative and supportive as our musically inclined indie friend’s community. The outpouring and encouragement I have received to write anything, with no line being drawn on my creative sand, and without anyone messing in my creative sandbox, has been nothing short of a revelation, a veritable epiphany after my time spent in corporate America. The same concept applies with Facebook. I am enjoying my new found friends and I am truly amazed at the guidance and encouragement offered. It’s remarkable how creative a person can become when there are no guidelines.

One fun thing that has happened this week is my adventure into the world of Twitter. First warning, a person with ADD who is on opioids should never, never, ever, never, ever, ever go on Twitter. However, this little journey has landed me almost 1000 new friends in less than one week. Let’s just say, I appear to be famous among German rock bands, so a least someone understands me! (It really just reinforces my belief that women should connect with men that do not speak the same language, since men never seem to understand what we are saying anyway.) There again is another story for another day…So back to Twitter, the support of indie writers and publishers has been over whelming. It’s a beautiful thing. It really is. The writing community seems to understand, as do our indie alternative music friends, that name recognition is the first name of the game. It’s been a fun week on Twitter, and one that has made me laugh through an otherwise excruciatingly painful week.  Now, I just have to figure out what a Shout Team is, how I got on one, and how to share in German.. That should be easy enough. Gawd…

Anyway, by Halloween I should have my first three short stories available. Who knows, maybe if I listen to Lux Interior sing ‘Life is short, filled with stuff, don’t know what for…’ one more time, I may have the book completed by Halloween…that is, if I can get off Twitter long enough to actually write something!

Stay tuned for the next exciting update and enjoy the August Blue Moon...oh, thank you for taking the time to read my first official blog.

Cheers y’all!

Hunter S. Jones