Well, the gears are beginning to turn over at Dragon Moon Press, as they begin the process of preparing my first novel, Solomon's Grave, for its upcoming release in 2009. Now, I've gone through this process twice before with the book, first with its Italian publisher in 2006 then with editor Michael Krug of Otherworld Verlag in Germany. But this time around, as the book will become available here in the US for the first time, I thought I'd keep you posted as to the process from the beginning to the final release.

Special shout-out to my editor at DM, Gabrielle Harbowy, who has begun the process of going through the novel, line by line, and making suggestions. Every editor has their own methods, and in this case Gabrielle prefers to work within MS Word using the track-changes feature. I was glad to hear this, because it's what I'm used to - it's how my two agents made suggestions and the past two editors - though for the most part since the book was translated at the same time as edited I didn't see the galleys (pre-pub proof copy). This time I will. And one of my oft-proofreaders, Michelle Pendergrass, likes to use MS Word's track-changes feature, and I've learned how to use it (and appreciate it).

So, Gabrielle will mark it up, send it to me for yays or nays. This should be much the same process as the original three proofreaders of the book from way, way back: my wife Janet (who marked her changes on printouts), Fran Bellerive (same, only with really bright pens) and Mark Lowell (who used email sometimes, othertimes simply sat me down and told me what he liked/didn't like).

Next, publisher Gwen Gades has been working on some cover mock-ups. So far, looks like we're going to follow the concept of #1 below, because it fits more with the overall plot, but I show #2 as an example of how different cover concepts could be. I like the looks and the color of #2, it just didn't work with the story itself. But I'd love to see any comments folks have on either. Be honest. As we refine the cover, I'll post more mock-ups here:

Concept #1 (click on images for larger version):

Concept #2:

Well, what do you think?

One of the events we lowly writers look forward to with a mix of eagerness and trepidation is the release of the annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, a tome covering what worked, what didn't, in both the fantasy and horror genres. One place where these two areas are intermingled, one of the few actually (normally fantasy and science fiction are paired up). Edited this year by Ellen Datlow, who's edited the horror side of the book since forever, and Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant taking up the reigns as fantasy editors. Filled with stories which they deem the best in the two genres from the past year, it's the front and back sections which we writers go immediately to, not necessarily in that order.

The back contains "honorable mentions," a list of authors and their stories published the prior year which Ellen & co consider good stories, but which did not make the cut into the book itself. We all want to see our name in this section, and I have gotten a few in the past. This time around, Ellen offered a gracious nod to "Ray Gun," published last Fall in Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest. The story had garnered some nice reviews this past year (and a couple of angry ones), so this Honorable Mention is a nice way to seal the pie - to mix metaphors. In her lengthy, very detailed reap of the horror market for the past year, Ellen also had this to say about Apex, which made me smile:

Gosh, shucks. Congrats to everyone who made the list, and those who got their stories into the issue, especially Jack Haringa (he who was killed many times in the past year by us scribes). Sure would be nice if I had some stories published in 2008, but doesn't look promising since Cemetery Dance is way behind on their magazine publishing schedule, and I'm not sure if the issue of Shroud I'm slated for will be out before 2009. I doubt she's reading Relief 2.2. Maybe I'll send her a copy. :-)

This most recent newsletter, after a long time silent on the email front:

Hi, everyone. Sorry, been, what, eight months since my last newsletter?Been posting on the blog (http://dankeohane.blogspot.com/) but have beenremiss in thisWhat's inside:
* Wheels and Heels Against MS walk this weekend
* Solomon's Grave coming out next year in English
* Plague of Darkness coming out in Germany in January
* "True Fashion" now appearing in Jack Haringa Must Die!
* "Box" coming to Coach's Midnight Diner 2 this Fall and currently inRelief Journal 2.2
* "Family at Dinner" recently sold to Shroud Magazine
* Miscellany

First off, the event which finally got me to send this out
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Wheels and Heels Against MS - annual 30 mile MS walk.
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Each year, my brother Paul and sister Anne are joined by other family members and friends in a 3-Day, 50-mile walk on Cape Cod to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Over the years their team, called Wheels and Heels Against MS, has raised over $50,000!! They're doing it again this weekend, SEPTEMBER 5 - 7. A number of people ask me about this each year, so I wanted to get the word out, a bit belated this time around (my apologies). Obviously, we're in the midst of difficult economic times and resources are being stretched extremely thin, but if you'd like to make a donation (never too late, of course) you can either log onto their team fundraising site: http://www.wheelsandheelsagainstms.com/ and make an online pledge or mail a check the old fashioned way, payable to The National MSSociety, to either Anne or Paul at:
Paul Keohane / 2 Jillian Rose Dr / Oxford, MA 01540
Anne Murphy / 16 Kenneth Lane / Tewksbury MA 01876

Good luck this weekend, everyone!
--------------------------------------------------------
Now, to the writing....
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Solomon's Grave to be published by Edge/Dragon Moon press next year in English ========================================================
After seeing print in Italian and German (and almost Russian), my novel Solomon's Grave will be published next year in English by Edge/Dragon Moon Press. They're a small/mid-sized press out of Canada who also distributes to the US. Yea, I seem to be taking the ICBM missile course to US publishing, starting in Europe, moving over the pole into Canada.... They haven't pegged a final release date yet, but early plans are for the Spring of 2009. More as I know it....

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Plague of Darkness to be released in Germany January 2009
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Otherworld Verlag, the German/Austrian publisher who published Solomon's Grave in its gorgeous German edition (as Das Grab des Salomon), has acquired another of my novels, Plague of Darkness, for publication in German, as Plage der Finsternis. The cover's done (once I get an official image I'll share it with you, but early looks were pretty cool), translation's almost done, and the book is scheduled for release in January 2009. This will be Plague's worldwide debut and I'm prettyexcited about it.
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"True Fashion" now appearing in Jack Haringa Must Die!======================================
Not sure if many of you know or remember back in March (depends if you follow my blog) when I killed off one of my fellow Central Massachusetts writers in the world's first official "Kill Jack Haringa on Your Blog Day"? Well, a number of these entries, mine included, have been collected in a small paperback (104 pp) edited by writer Nick Kaufmann, called "Jack Haringa Must Die! 28 Original Tales of Madness, Terror and Strictly Grammatical Murder." They did this, aside from the It-Would-Be-A-Hoot reason, to raise funds for the newly established Shirley Jackson Award for work in the horror genre. Though the book is currently available from Amazon, if you order directly from the Awards website (http://www.darkfantasy.org/shirleyjacksonawards/sja_jhmd.htm)
they keep a much higher percentage of the $10 sticker price for thefund-raiser. You can also see the full table of contents, which includes some pretty major names (hey, I'm in there after all, ).

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Short story, "Box" coming to Coach's Midnight Diner 2 this Fall andcurrently in Relief Journal 2.2
==================================================================
Fellow writer Michelle Pendergrass, co-editing a sequel anthology tolast year's successful Coach's Midnight Diner, invited me to write a story for #2. CMD is an interesting mix of Christian themes with dark horror, nothing sanitized, which deals in some way with faith. The story I ended up writing is rather grim, but I have to admit it's one of the best stories (I think) I've written in a long time. Special thanks to Holly Wang, who works with my wife Janet, who got me phonetic translations of dialogue from English to Mandarin Chinese. The anthologyis due out sometime this fall, but in the meantime, they also publish a literary magazine called Relief Journal, and in the most recent issue, Relief 2.2, they've published the story as a promotional tool for the upcoming anthology. Relief is an incredible magazine, with essays, poetry and fiction. Since there's no website yet for the Diner anthology, here's a link to the lit magazine that has the story (and it's on sale for $10 currently, just found out):
http://www.reliefjournal.com/component/page,shop.product_details/category_id,1/flypage,flypage.tpl/product_id,7/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,135/vmcchk,1/ (or you can just go to http://www.reliefjournal.com/ and lookfor issue 2.2 along the bottom right)

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"Family at Dinner" coming soon to Shroud Magazine
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After spending years, literally, on the maybe list of two major magazines (one ended up folding, I finally pulled it from the other), my surreal story "Family at Dinner" has been accepted for publication inthe new horror magazine Shroud (http://www.shroudmagazine.com/). This is a slick horror mag (print, not web) which has been gaining quite a reputation. The story is slated for issue 6 at this point, sometime later this year, early next.

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Miscellany
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No word yet which specific issue of Cemetery Dance Magazine "Living by the Highway" will appear in. Likely the next one (after the one due out any day now...). More as I know it.

For those who do not know, way back in January this year my novel Margaret's Ark was a semi-finalist in a contest run by Penguin/Amazon. Didn't get any further than that, but we walked away with a nice Publisher's Weekly review and those very cool Amazon reviews, so a gain all around. Thanks to everyone who participated.

OK, that's it. Again, sorry for the delay. I'll try to do better next time...
Dan
http://www.dankeohane.com/

Thanks to Janet's impeccable driving to and from vacation last week, I was able to make some good headway with Lost in the Woods, bring the word count of the first draft up to almost 39,000 words. Halfway there, and seems about right, as I've reached the mid-point climax involving a gunshot to the chest. Always pleasant....

I'll probably drop a little in my word acceleration because L.L.Soares writes too fast and our novelette Nightmare in Greasepaint is back on my side of the net. This is shaping to be a pretty cool one, though. Never wrote a novella/novelette before but Lauran was right when he said this early, early short story of mine (written 20 years ago believe it or not) is long-form material. We'll see when it's wrapped up, though. Later drafts always cuts the word count down (if you edit properly).

Oh, and special congratulations to my son Andrew for acheiving the level of brown-black belt in Kempo karate. (and for getting a 790 on his Math SAT...!)

So much - news on Coach's Midnight Diner Volume 2 coming soon, containing my new story "Box". .

And I got a sneak peak from editor/publisher Michael Krug of the cover of the German edition of Plague of Darkness (Plage der Finsternis), due out from Otherworld Verlag in January 2009. I'll share it when it becomes the official cover, but it's dark, and very, very cool.

To the important point of today's entry, a special message I proudly deliver each year from my brother and sister:

Hi, everyone -
Over the past five years, I have Emailed to ask you to be a hero in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. And, each year, you have answered that call and much more. I cannot thank you all enough for always being there.

Just to give you an idea of the financial impact you have had, our team -- Wheels and Heels Against MS -- last year received a plaque from The National MS Society stating that we had, over those years, raised over $50,000!! The award is a true testament to your incredible generosity!

These funds go such a long way toward funding the vital efforts of The National MS Society. Remarkable advances have been made these past few years, searching for a cure. The money you have donated have helped greatly in those efforts, as well as helping to pay for local education, support and advocacy programs that mean so much to those individuals battling this terrible disease.

Once again, my sister Anne Murphy defies her MS and joins her wheels (her hand-pedalled sports bike) to our heels in our 3-Day, 50-mile journey. From September 5th to 7th, we will be joining hundreds of others at the Cape [Cod, Massachusetts], proudly pushing our bodies to the limit in the fight against MS. We look forward as always to this challenge and hope that you will again
join us in our efforts.

Obviously, we are the midst of very difficult economic times and your resources are being stretched extremely thin. But if there is anything you can spare - no matter the amount - it would make such a big difference and is so greatly appreciated.

There are several ways you can help.
* Log onto our fundraising site, http://www.wheelsandheelsagainstms.com/, and make an online pledge.
* Mail a check, payable to The National MS Society, to either Anne or I. Our addresses are:

Paul Keohane / 2 Jillian Rose Dr /Oxford, MA 01540
Anne Murphy / 16 Kenneth Lane / Tewsbury MA 01876

* Forward this to others and ask for their help in our cause.

Thank you all so very much!!!
- Paul Keohane

I'm way behind in posting this first part, my apologies!

Remember back in March when I killed off one of my fellow central Mass writers in the first official Kill Jack Haringa on Your Blog Day? Well, a number of these entries, mine included, have been collected in a small paperback (104 pp) edited by Nick Kaufmann, called Jack Haringa Must Die! 28 Original Tales of Madness, Terror and Strictly Grammatical Murder. They did this, aside from the It Would Be A Hoot Factor, to raise funds for the newly established Shirley Jackson Award. Though the book is currently available from Amazon, if you order directly from the Awards Website they keep a much higher percentage of the price for the fund-raiser. You can also see the full table of contents, which includes some pretty major names (hey, I'm in there after all, lol).

Also want to give a shout to Michelle Pendgrass and her fellow horror writers over at the Indiana Horror Writers organization, who've released their first anthology, Dark Harvest, with stories from Michelle, Michael West, Marcus Broaddus, Bob Freeman, Tracy Jones, Sara Larson, Tiffany Proctor, with an introduciton by Gary Braunbeck. Ordering information for this trade paperback can be found at http://www.cairnwood.net/darkharvest.html!

Nightmare in Greasepaint, a novella I'm working on with L.L.Soares, is coming along nicely. As well, finally diving back into the novel, Lost in the Woods, after a hiatus. About 26,000 words, so still have a long way to go, but slow and steady progress forward.

No further news on Solomon's Grave's release next year in the states, or Plague of Darkness in Germany around the same time. More as I hear anything, about these or my other hapless works.

On the short fiction front, "Box" is set to be released in the upcoming Coach's Midnight Diner 2, but not sure when or who else is in it at the moment. I think it's coming out earlier as a promotional story in the next issue of Relief Journal, but I'm not listed as a contributor so not sure about that. We'll know soon enough. Relief 2.2 is set to be released this summer.

Finally, "Living by the Highway" is still slated for an upcoming issue of Cemetery Dance Magazine, maybe as early as issue #60 or the next. When i Iear, you'll hear.

OK, bye.

Broke the 20K mark for new novel Lost in the Woods last week, which is pretty good considering the week began writing-less. Hate that, makes me crazy.

Remember the Kill Jack Haringa on your Blog Day earlier this year (click the link of not)? Well, there was quite a spread of stories killing off writer Jack Haringa, and quite a few have been collected into a small anthology - not yet released, so I'll keep the details to myself until Nick Kaufmann says it's OK. Stay tuned.

Fellow writer Michelle Pendergrass, who is co-editing a follow-up to the successful anthology Coach's Midnight Diner, and invited me to write a story. CMD is an interesting mix of Christian themes with horror, not soft or sanitized, no rules, hard horror but which deals in some way with faith. I did some free writing, word association, came up with the image of someone living in a box, and went from there. The result, a story called "Box". It's been officially accepted and may appear in a related magazine Relief 2.2 beforehand. Though the subject is rather grim and serious, I have to admit this had been one of the most enjoyable writing sessions I had with a piece. And, all humility aside, I think it's one of my best stories in a long, long time. Special thanks to Holly Chen, who works with my wife Janet, for getting phonetic translations of selected lines of dialogue from English to Mandarin Chinese. This dialogue adds a lot to the story, on many levels. Looking forward to seeing the final TOC for this collection.