Hiram Grange Five Day Book Trailer Contest- Win $100!

After Author Kevin Lucia and publisher Neil Jackson both submitted book trailers for Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned, I quickly realized that there is a wealth of creativity and talent out in the Webosphere, just waiting to be discovered

Both Kevin and Neil suggested a BOOK TRAILER CONTEST to see how much excitement people can create with a 30 to 60 second video.  I thought it was an inspired idea, and I am willing to pay people for their efforts.

Let's keep the rules simple.

1. You have FIVE DAYS starting from December 24th at 12AM EST, and ending at December 29th 12AM EST, though if you start immediately, we'll never know.

2.  Yeah, we know it's Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Christmas, Saturnalia, Solstice, time, but that's the whole point.  Make it quick, down and dirty, guerilla filmmaking!

3.  No book purchase is necessary.  There is enough information on this blog to get you started.  We are not worried about 100% accuracy.  Be creative, but try to be true to the Hiram Grange "canon" (guffaw).

4.  30 to 60 seconds in length (but don't sweat it if you go over or under)

5.  You may borrow images from Shroud, but please do so sparingly and you MUST credit our wonderful artists (such as Malcolm McClinton or Danny Evarts).  You may use these images only for the purposes of this contest.  But really folks, we'd really dig it if you went outside the box and used brand new content.  Naturally do not violate other people's copyright either.  If you do, we can't use your video.

6.  Post your entry on your own YouTube page, and email us the link from there.

7.  Please make sure your video abides with YouTube's submission guidelines.  Any discriminatory material, or anything exploitive to kids, marsupials or orangutans will be summarily discarded.  We will not be held responsible blah blah blah...

8.  I will tap the Hiram Five Authors, Malcolm McClinton (the artist) and Danny Evarts (editor/designer/artist) as judges.  Though, they do not know this yet.

Judging Criteria:

• Compelling, creative and cool;
• Viral Quality;
• True to the Hiram Grange "canon."

9. We'll announce finalists on January 2nd, 2010.

10.  Those Finalists then have five more days to generate the most user ratings on YouTube.  The entry with the most/highest ratings wins!

Prizes:

FIRST PLACE:  $100 Shroud Gift Certificate

SECOND PLACE: $30 Shroud Gift Certificate

THIRD PLACE:   $10 Shroud Gift Certificate

All Finalists will receive a copy of a Hiram grange book of their choice, and all winners will be mentioned in the Subsequent issue of Shroud Magazine.

Send all questions to us.

ready, set, GO!

Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned Trailer v2

Neil Jackson from Ghostwriter Publications (UK) was kind enough to put this trailer together for Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned. We'd love to get your feedback!

The Toxic Avenger Loves Hiram Grange--a Blurb from Kaufman!

On the heels of the release of Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned (B&N, Amazon, SP), Scott Christian Carr's wildly original novella, Hiram Grange and the Twelve Little Hitlers, has already begun to create some excitement among advance readers. Hitlers is the second installment in the Scandalous Misadventures of Hiram Grange series.

One of those readers is none other than Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma Entertainment and Creator of the Toxic Avenger.  Kaufman read Hitlers, and said it was:

 "more fun than a barrel full of Hitlers... The best novel since Don Quixote!"

Greg Hall, the master of ceremonies over at the Funky Werepig radio show was equally impressed:

“Somewhere in the Underworld, Lovecraft is grinning with delight and Hunter S. Thompson is raising his bottle high. You won’t find a darker, more twisted character than Hiram Grange.”

But the lavish praise and adoration doesn't stop there! Renowned  sci-fi author Patricia Anthony, who wrote Cold Allies, Brother Termite, Conscience of the Beagle, Happy Policeman, Cradle of Splendor, God's Fires, Flanders, and Eating Memories said this about Hitlers:

"Scott Christian Carr is one of the most insightful writers I know. He's also one of the funniest. Reading 'Twelve Little Hitlers' never fails put you under an intellectual pleasure-dome, which is great in and of itself --- The unexpected surprise is, you'll also laugh your ass off!" 

Stay tuned for the January 2010 release of Carr's Hiram Grange and the Twelve Little Hitlers!

Hiram Grange Reader Chimes in on Killing Zombies

J. Perry, a retired US Army Infantry Master Sergeant sent an email into Shroud Publishing with a unique analysis on the effectiveness of guns against the undead:

"I'm really starting to enjoy the adventures of Hiram. I like the modern noir-urban ambience off set by the humor, as well as the B-movie horror themes presented with a modern sensibility and edge. The dark tone would other wise be depressing, but becomes hilarious when combined with the caricature nature of the plot and the characters. I've laughed out loud, more then once.

The whole concept very much reminds me of the zombie-apocalypse genre which often combines the fictional (and sometimes presented humorously) zombie resurrection phenomena with actual, real-world settings and survival/disaster preparedness skills. One of the topics that comes up often is the use of melee weapons vs. firearms.

Its painfully obvious that Hiram needs, a sword, or a swordsman, or preferably both. That's the problem with terminal ballistics and zombies. You can't rely on hydrostatic shock and temporal cavity damage to down a zombie. Hiram does well to use the beefy, sub-sonic round that he's using for it's kinetic energy transfer. But he really needs a large surface area, edged weapon to quite literally disable/dismember his threat..."

 One of the Hiram authors just may have to include this insight in a future episode of Hiram Grange.

Hiram available NOW!

You can get Hiram Grange on Amazon TODAY!

Click here to get Hiram right now.

Join the Scandalous Misadventure today!

"With 'Hiram Grange', Jake Burrows has created a weird, disturbed, deeply troubled and darkly funny hero. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED is quirky and creepy and way too much sick fun. Highly recommended." -Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE WOLFMAN and THE DRAGON FACTORY

"Stunning and startlingly original...a must read!" --Nate Kenyon, author of THE BONE FACTORY and SPARROW ROCK

Advance Praise for Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned

The first installment of the Hiram Grange series has begun to receive glowing praise from a number of writers and reviewers in the dark fiction genre.

Due out in late November, 2009, Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned offers readers their first glimpse of the scurrilous boozer and malcontent in 125 pages of darkly-humorous horror fiction. There will be five installments in the first series, each penned by different authors. More information can be found here.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR HIRAM GRANGE

"With 'Hiram Grange', Jake Burrows has created a weird, disturbed, deeply troubled and darkly funny hero. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED is quirky and creepy and way too much sick fun. Highly recommended." -Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE WOLFMAN and THE DRAGON FACTORY

"Stunning and startlingly original...a must read!" --Nate Kenyon, author of THE BONE FACTORY and SPARROW ROCK

"Twisted, thrilling, and thoroughly enjoyable. Pure pulp, in the best possible way."-- Matthew Dow Smith, artist for DOCTOR WHO, SUPERNATURAL:ORIGINS, and THE KEEP

"A seamless blend of wickedly dark humour and full-throttle horror, the series begins with great promise." -- Dave Jeffrey, THE RISEN, BEATRICE BEACHAM, and FINDING JERICHO

"There is no methadone for Hiram Grange, it will hook you from the first page and leave you jonesing for your next fix." -- R. Scott McCoy, author of FEAST and publisher of Necrotic Tissue.

"...utterly engrossing opium-laced adventure with just the right amount of dark, disturbing wit and a fascinating history." -- Jessica Lynn Gardner, Dark fiction author/Public Relations Specialist

"This is the most balmy brilliant novella I've read this century and lucky me there is more to come." -- Peter Mark May, the novelblog.com

"Hiram is intelligent but an unlikely hero, his adventure is action packed and unpredictable." -- Tammy Kane, Macabre Cadaver

Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned Advance Reviews....

The advance reviews for Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned are beginning to come in. This one comes from Dave Jeffreys at bookreview.com:

"Hiram Grange has a flair and originality that has been missing from contemporary horror fiction for some time. A seamless blend of wickedly dark humour and full-throttle horror, the series begins with great promise. Jake Burrows puts in a sterling performance bringing Grange to life, complete with layers of fallibility that makes even the repugnant elements of the character’s personality endearing in a very creepy way. Burrows leaves the reader wondering if Grange is so flawed he’ll never make it through the 125 pages alive, let alone bring events to any kind of resolution. This notion jacks up the suspense as the battered protagonist staggers from one gore-fest to the next."

Read more here.

The series...

Book 1: Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned, by Jake Burrows

Something wicked walks the streets of the picturesque New Hampshire village of Great Bay--something that has inexplicably risen from the grave to wreak a horrifying vengeance. Only one man can stop it—Hiram Grange--provided he can sober up long enough to answer the call!

JAKE BURROWS the author of more than 100 articles, stories, and essays published in a variety of mediums and publications spanning the globe, under various pen names. He is a former Police Constable from West Clare, Ireland and a former Intelligence Specialist with the Irish Defence Forces Directorate of Intelligence.

Book 2: Hiram Grange and the Twelve Little Hitlers, by Scott Christian Carr

Hitler has escaped. Twelve of them, to be precise, each cloned from the original, and hiding in the bizarre American underground. Hiram Grange has been tasked with hunting them down. The only problem: he's hit rock bottom. His worst binge ever---a mad dance with absinthe, opium and depression...

SCOTT CHRISTIAN CARR lives on a secluded mountaintop deep in New York's Hudson Valley, where he makes a living writing and producing for film and television and spending time with his family. His fiction has appeared in Shroud Magazine, Withersin, GUD, Horror Quarterly, Pulp Eternity, and assorted anthologies. His recent awards include The Hunter S. Thompson Award for Outstanding Journalism, Scriptapalooza TV: 1st Place Best Original Pilot, and a 2009 Bram Stoker Award nomination.

Book 3: Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist, by Rob Davies

From its global headquarters in Boston, the mysterious Occlusionist Movement is preparing to control the world with its Digital Eucharist, while in the serpentine bowels of the city an ancient demon is unleashed, eager for revenge against the man who imprisoned it years ago—Hiram Grange!

ROB DAVIES lives in Somerville, Massachusetts. His stories have appeared in Interzone, Shroud Magazine, and Weird Tales.

Book 4: Hiram Grange and the Chosen One, by Kevin Lucia

Hiram Grange doesn't believe in fate; he makes his own destiny. It's a good thing, because Queen Mab of Faerie has foreseen the world's destruction, and it's all his fault. He must choose: kill an innocent or save the universe. It's just another day on the job for Hiram Grange.

KEVIN LUCIA is a Contributing Editor for Shroud Magazine. His poetry and short fiction has appeared in several anthologies, and he's  currently finishing his MA in Creative Writing at Binghamton University. He teaches high school English and lives in Castle Creek, New York with his wife and children. Visit www.kevinlucia.net.

Book 5: Hiram Grange and the Nymphs of Krakow, by Richard Wright

Hiram Grange was already broken when his world was turned upside down by the horrifying revelations of a beautiful and dangerous woman. Faced with the possibility that he’s been a pawn in a diabolical game, he seeks the truth in the snows of Krakow. But the truth is guarded by ancient, winged things—and the truth has teeth...

RICHARD WRIGHT is an author of strange, dark fictions, currently living in India. His stories have been diversely published over the last decade, everywhere from the Doctor Who 'Best Of' anthology Short Trips: Recollections to the Bram Stoker award nominated Beneath the Surface. Find out more at http://www.richardwright.org

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Hiram Grange and the 12 Little Hitlers

Another book trailer from the upcoming Shroud Publishing series: The Scandalous Misadventures of Hiram Grange. This trailer, by Kevin Lucia, previews the 2nd in the series by Scott Christian Carr.

Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned Trailer.

Many thanks to Kevin Lucia for producing this... and he is hard at work on more! This is COMING SOON!

GET SHROUD'S ENTIRE COLLECTION AT AMAZON.COM



Something wicked walks the streets of the picturesque New Hampshire village of Great Bay--something that has inexplicably risen from the grave to wreak a horrifying vengeance. Only one man can stop it--provided he can sober up long enough to answer the call!

This man is Hiram Grange, a clandestine operative for the Office of Independent Research and Analysis. With an unhealthy predilection for absinthe, opium, and sex, Hiram Grange stumbles his way through one supernatural and scandalous misadventure after another.


The first of a five part series. Cover and illustrations by Malcolm McClinton

Trailer by Kevin Lucia

COMING SOON!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JAKE BURROWS the author of more than 100 articles, stories, and essays published in a variety of mediums and publications spanning the globe, under various pen names. He is a former Police Constable from West Clare, Ireland and a former Intelligence Specialist with the Irish Defence Forces Directorate of Intelligence, also known as G2. In his spare time he enjoys traveling. Jake spends about half of his time in the United States where he owns a small cottage overlooking Great Bay New Hampshire. He is also quite fond of reading, hiking, music, art, history, and single malt whiskeys.