I have decided to present a list of my own that will hopefully pique your interest enough to try one of these books. Turn off the TV and video game for a while and give books a chance, they are your best source for outstanding entertainment. You get to exercise the most important part of your body; your brain. You can travel to far away lands and different worlds, you get to mingle with unbelievable people, you get to be the good guy or the bad guy (whichever you prefer); you get to battle monsters, demons and the scariest people this side of Congress. But mostly you get the feeling of being part of something special between you and the author and that my friend cannot be duplicated.

But first I would like to thank Famous Monsters of Filmland for allowing me to work with them in this little section. It has been absolutely fabulous and has been a blast. I have gotten to meet so many new and interesting people that otherwise I would not have. I would like to also thank the publishers and writers for taking time out of their busy schedules to email or talk to me.  Without them this all could not be possible. I would like to extend a special thanks to Dorchester Publishing, specifically Erin Galloway for everything they have done for me. Erin has arranged the interviews with the authors (a lot more are coming after the new year) and she has kept me up to date on all that is happening in their Horror line. If there is anyone I missed I apologize, it wasn’t done intentionally.

Now for better or for worse My Top Ten Books of 2008

1. Bram Stoker’s Notes for Dracula: Facsimile Edition - Robert Eighteen-Bisang and  Elizabeth MIller - The absolute must companion piece for Bram Stoker’s epic tale. A mind boggling journey through Bram Stoker’s handwritten notes. A must book to own if you own Dracula. Read my review here.

2. Found You – Mary SanGiovanni - The absolutely stunning follow up to her first novel The Hollower. The best first chapter of a book I have read in some years. See my review here and my interview with Mary here.

3. Duma Key – Stephen King - Another horror masterpiece from the legend himself. Mr. King returns to his horror roots in grand fashion. This is one scary book.

4. Just After Sunset – Stephen King - A new short story collection from the master. You must read What They Left Behind…one of the best short stories ever written…period.

5. Your Heart Belongs to Me – Dean Koontz – Another breathtaking thriller by Mr. Koontz. You will never look at yourself in the mirror the same way again.

6. The Fly At Fifty – Diane Kachmar & David D. Goudsward - The authoritative work on this Sci-Fi classic. Read my review and author interview here. Read my interview with David Hedison here.

7. Elsewhere – Peter William Blatty – The man who brought us The Exorcist returns with a an absolutely riveting ghost story. Read my review here.

8. The Reach – Nate Kenyon – Mr. Kenyon returns with his second novel. A terrific tale of a young girl with the power to destroy the wold. Read my review here.

9. Crimson - Gord Rollo – Due to be released in March 2009 but since I read an ARC this year I had to put it in my list.  A fantastic coming of age book with a little bit of everything for every horror fan.  Read my review here. Author interview coming soon.

10. Black Cathedral – L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims – If you like haunted house stories put this amazing book on your list. One of the most frightening books of the year. Review coming soon.

Honorable Mentions – Moontown by Peter Atkins;  People Are Strange by James Newman; Tower Hill by Sarah Pinborough; Covenant by John Everson; Bloodstone by Nate Kenyon

That does it for 2008. I want to wish all you monster fans a safe and Happy New Year and may 2009 be a great year for everyone. I will return in 2009 with more Terror Tales.

Thank You

Peter D. Schwotzer

The notebook Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned with in Lerici, Italy…

A fortress 800 feet high on Mount Parnassus, Greece…

A piece of Shelley’s charred jaw bone…

Based on the incredible adventures of Edward John Trelawny…friend of the poets.

Illustrated by Percy Bysshe Shelly

All copies are hand signed by the author and handbound using handmade Cave Paper specially designed to recreate Percy Bysshe Shelly’s water-logged journal. Exquisitely printed in black & metallic gold ink on Mohawk Strathmore Pastelle. Illustrated endleaves.

Publisher: Charnel House
Edition: Limited Edition Hardcover in Slipcase
Release Date: May 30, 2009
Page Count: 108
Print Run: 250
Price: $169.00
You Save: $6.00
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YOUR HEART BELONGS TO ME by Dean Koontz

Read my review here

From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense comes a riveting thriller that probes the deepest terrors of the human psyche—and the ineffable mystery of what truly makes us who we are. Here a brilliant young man finds himself fighting for his very existence in a battle that starts with the most frightening words of all…

At thirty-four, Internet entrepreneur Ryan Perry seemed to have the world in his pocket—until the first troubling symptoms appeared out of nowhere. Within days, he’s diagnosed with incurable cardiomyopathy and finds himself on the waiting list for a heart transplant; it’s his only hope, and it’s dwindling fast. Ryan is about to lose it all…his health, his girlfriend Samantha, and his life.

One year later, Ryan has never felt better. Business is good and he hopes to renew his relationship with Samantha. Then the unmarked gifts begin to appear—a box of Valentine candy hearts, a heart pendant. Most disturbing of all, a graphic heart surgery video and the chilling message: Your heart belongs to me.

In a heartbeat, the medical miracle that gave Ryan a second chance at life is about to become a curse worse than death. For Ryan is being stalked by a mysterious woman who feels entitled to everything he has. She’s the spitting image of the twenty-six-year-old donor of the heart beating steadily in Ryan’s own chest.

And she’s come to take it back.

This is a 250 copy limited edition hardcover bound in white-Aqua Sukiya-Donsu Silk. Foil and blind stamping on spine and front board. Slipcase bound in Blue Miyabi Tsumugi cloth. Fabriano Ingres endleaves.

Publisher: Charnel House
Edition: Limited Edition Hardcover
Release Date: Mar. 30, 2009
Print Run: 250
Price: $189.00
You Save: $11
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Just how well do you know yourself? Is the person you look at in the mirror every morning really you? If you were to experience a devastating life changing moment would you react the way you think you would?

These and more Mr. Koontz tackles in his latest book. He takes you on a roller coaster ride through the human psyche, that will leave you wondering if you really know yourself at all.

Ryan Perry is filthy rich, but his riches are from his own hard work as an internet entrepreneur. At 34 he has the world at his feet. He has a beautiful girlfriend Samantha and is in perfect health until some medical symptoms arise and he is diagnosed with incurable cardiomyopathy. He is put on a waiting list for a heart transplant with less than a year to live.

Mr. Koontz interweaves an intricate love story with the ethical issues of human organ transplants. From the first page Mr. Koontz draws you in with the back and forth banter of Ryan and Samantha. They clearly love each other but Samantha has held off on accepting Ryan’s engagement. There is something holding her back and Ryan does not know what it is.

Mr. Koontz again shows why he is a master of his craft with a story that manages to reach deep inside  you and leave you wondering….what would I do?

As with all of Mr. Koontz’s books he manages to use his vast talents to twist you around, knock you over and in the end leave you thinking, and that my friends is what a good book should do.

If you have read his books you know exactly what I am talking about. If not, do yourself a favor and buy this one. Definitely one of my top books of the year.

He declared the adaptation as “so perfect”.

Odd Thomas is a short order cook with the ability to speak with the dead. His exploits have been chronicled in three other books and he told his fans that the entire Odd Thomas series should be wrapped in seven volumes. “I know how it ends,” said Koontz. “But I don’t know how he gets there yet.”

FM: So Chuck, you’re usually known for other genres, notably super-heroes and war. Horror and Chuck Dixon are not synonymous leading me to wonder, how’d this come about?

Chuck: I had done work previously for the Dabel Brothers, adapting Robert Jordan’s New Spring. So, they asked if I’d be interested in adapting some Dean Koontz. We settled on the Frankenstein books. And I’m not really a stranger to horror. Some of my earliest comics work was for Eclipse’s various horror anthologies as well as Seven Block with Jorge Zaffino for Epic. And I recently did an eight issue run of Nightmare on Elm Street for WildStorm and a werewolf mini for Platinum called Big Badz. So, I do the scary.

FM: How familiar were you with Dean Koontz’s work before beginning this assignment

Chuck: I read a few of his earlier novels many years ago.

FM: How does one adapt a novel to a comic book?

Chuck: In this case it was easy! Dean breaks this stuff down like a comic script. Fast paced and lots of juicy visuals.

The process is like this: I read the novel through and then go back and re-read with post-it notes and a highlighter pen in hand. I highlight significant dialogue and mark page breaks and put in post-its for the issue breaks. Like I said, it was real easy this time. Usually I have to hunt for strong visuals as most novels tend to be internal. But this book gave me option paralysis with all the cool and gruesome stuff.

FM: Does pacing the adaptation over six issues change knowing that it will also be collected in hardcover?

Chuck: There’s still a closer each issue that forms either a cliffhanger or high point. And, again, this was pretty simple as there are so many dramatic high points sprinkled throughout the book.

FM: Would you have preferred adapting it in a single unit as opposed to six issues?

Chuck: That would be nice. But the economics of single issues to trade collections don’t allow for that. Long form is always best always easiest.

FM: Could you go more graphic? Were there gaps to fill in?

Chuck: There were no gaps. It’s plotted really tight and everything gets coverage. And I was actually asked to pull back on some of the grue. So, while there’s plenty of gore, we imply the nastier stuff rather than laying it out under the lights. Some of the uglier stuff works fine in prose but goes way over the top when you start doing it up in comics form.

But it’s still stomach-churning!

FM: Did you and Koontz talk about the project at all?

Chuck: I had no contact with the author except through the publisher. And he made very few changes to the finished script. I think I like it better this way. I’m free to mangle and rework the prose into comic form without thinking I’m messing with the work of an actual human being. Sometimes it’s like making sausage and you don’t want the customer watching.

FM: Were you involved with Brett Booth becoming artist?

Chuck: Brett was brought on after me.

FM: What do you think of the way Brett interprets the script?

Chuck: He puts everything into it and gives the book a look different from what readers might expect. He pulls off the creepier parts in a big way.

FM: Prodigal Son is the first of a proposed trilogy from Koontz. Will you be adapting the next two books?

Chuck: That’s the plan. I stay with this till the wheels come off.

FM: The Dabel Brothers run a very different kind of operation compared with DC and Marvel. What are the differences and advantages?

Chuck: Well, I can talk to the top guys anytime I want. Also, I feel a kinship with these guys. We all see the potential of the book and library market in a way some comic publishers do not. And I stuck with them through some tough times as they started up and they’ve always expressed (and demonstrated) their appreciation for that. Loyalty like that is in short supply in this business.

FM: This was announced back in August so what took so long for this to be released?

Chuck: We wanted to give Brett plenty of time on the art.

FM: What scares you?

Chuck: I’m just paranoid enough never to reveal that. My enemies might use it against me! But when I was a kid I saw every monster movie that came out and never had a nightmare until I saw Fail Safe. That one scared the goobers out of me! I think because I realized that it could happen.

FM: Do you have a favorite monster from fiction, film or comics?

Chuck: Anything with werewolves.

FM: Are you doing any other horror-related work?

Chuck: Not at the moment, But that could change anytime.

FM: Chuck, thanks so much for your time.

Chuck: Thank you! And glad to see Famous Monsters back!

The six-issue miniseries will appear monthly and a hardcover collection from DelRey Books has already been announced.