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‘When it Rains’: Mark Allan Gunnells Dives into Eco-Horror and Paranoia

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When it Rains

There’s something deeply unsettling and all-too-familiar about Mark Allan Gunnells’s new novella, When it Rains. Maybe it’s just living through a pandemic for the last couple of years. Maybe it’s the very real, looming climate crisis. Either way, the author deftly cuts to the bone with a story that feels like it could have been pulled from the local news.

On a seemingly normal, sunny day, a mysterious rain begins to fall. That, on its own, isn’t so strange. What’s strange is that it doesn’t feel like rain at all. It’s a slimy, globular, oily substance. It also happens to be covering the entire world. Rather than focusing on the world’s reaction, however, the author drops us into a small, posh university campus where students and locals take shelter from the storm inside a bookstore/cafe.

As paranoia grows over what the storm might be, the small crowd turns on each other, exiling those who were caught in the rain.

It’s interesting that Gunnells sets the story sometime in the future beyond our own pandemic experiences. He rightfully gave his characters memories of the past and how things were handled. It’s also quite remarkable how throwing out a term like “self-isolating” causes a visceral, knee-jerk reaction in the reader.

The author also draws upon his encyclopedic knowledge of horror films, television series, and books to underline his character’s thoughts. References to The Mist, The Stand, and even the classic Twilight Zone episode “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” remind us that this idea is nothing new, but that doesn’t make it any less scary. Whether it’s a pack of rowdy neighbors on the street or religious zealots in a supermarket, human nature is often the most terrifying monster of all.

But perhaps the most potent, exacting truth in Make it Rain is that humans have a remarkable propensity to be entirely right and wrong simultaneously. Our vestigial fight or flight responses can and often do lead us down paths to destruction. Is it because we are too far removed to sense the sources of real danger around us? Or because we’ve become so numb to those dangers that they feel more like a fact of life?

I’m not sure I have an answer to that question. Neither does the author, but he certainly seems to be asking someone…anyone…to let us know.

When it Rains features an interesting cast of characters, but sadly none of them are quite as filled out as they perhaps, could have been. I couldn’t help but wonder if this wasn’t due to a need for brevity in the storytelling or if it was a plot device in and of itself. We’re given just enough background on the players in this horror drama to seemingly put faces to the names, perhaps to give us the same glimpse into each that the group of mostly strangers have with each other.

The exception here is Vincent, the husband of Tony who works in the campus bookstore. He’s more fleshed out than any character in the book, and ultimately becomes our flawed moral compass.

As a whole, however, When it Rains is an exciting, quick read, perfect for a rainy afternoon…or maybe you should wait until it’s sunny out. Either way, you’re in for a real treat.

You can pick up a copy of When it Rains by CLICKING HERE. The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited!

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‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

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Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

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Holland House Ent. Announces New Book “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

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Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983’s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the film’s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Holland’s own personal archive – Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the film’s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), I wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the film’s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklin’s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. I’d had no idea he’d written them before he passed in 2007.”

“Reading them,” continues Holland, “was like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.”

“So, step back with me forty years and let’s see how it happened.”

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

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Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

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It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as “better than I am now” and “a lot more energetic.” But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

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