New Horror Anthology Coming in Hot

I’m pleased to announce that my story “After Birth,” inspired by the Black Sabbath song “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” is included in this new anthology Symptom of the Universe, coming out in September. That’s next month! Whoa.

All proceeds go to the Dio Cancer Fund. It was an honor to be able to contribute to what will be an outstanding collection of stories and authors.

From the publisher:

Dark Moon Rising Publications

Available for Pre-order

Releasing September 18, 2024

A worldwide gathering of award winning horror authors have come together to craft a collection of dark fiction stories covering every album and every era of Black Sabbath. Each story is inspired by one of Black Sabbath’s greatest songs from the biggest hits to the most obscure album tracks. SYMPTOM OF THE UNIVERSE: A HORROR TRIBUTE TO BLACK SABBATH is an immediate classic for rock fans and horror fans alike. Featuring the talents of Stewart Giles, J. Rocky Colavito, Sidney Williams, Tom Lucas, Thomas R. Clark, Ezekiel Kincaid, Neil Kelly, Tony Millington and many more, curated and edited by J.C. Maçek III with a foreword by Martin Popoff, Symptom of the Universe will whet your appetite for horror and rock at the same time.

All proceeds are being donated to the Dio Cancer Fund

Trigger warnings: Themes of addiction, mental health, and self-harm

Are you ready for a rocking read??

Amazon Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DDJPL9CV

Tom LucasLeave a comment

AuthorCon III was a blast!

Last month, I shared a table at Scares That Care: AuthorCon III with my good friend and fab author, Sidney Williams. Scares That Care is a horror author convention that I have wanted to attend for some time, but I was waiting until I had something new out to promote…and that something needed to be horror. So, thanks to Research Randy, I had a good excuse to make it happen.

I don’t do a lot of events. Not because I’m something special, but in my eyes, it’s quite the opposite. What do I have to offer? Most of the other authors really have their act together. Their tables look amazing, they are great at engaging passers-by, and they seem to sell a lot of books. Super cool for them and mad props! I dearly wish I follow suit, but I seem to lack a critical piece in my own psyche to make that happen. It might be my personal relationship with the craft of writing, my personality, my reading habits, or maybe just a poor attitude. I dunno, but it keeps me from beating the streets to really sell some books. I find it exhausting and somehow a bit artificial. All the selling…for me the only real reason to sell books is so that I can present my work to new readers, and those new readers will enjoy the experience.

Or maybe it’s a problem of EGO.

Whatever my hang-up is, the bottom line is that I had a really good time. My friend Sid is a great host and as it had been some time since we had spent time together in the 3-D world (not Zoom) — that was pure joy. I also enjoyed meeting several new authors such as Ashon Ruffins and Eric Butler. I was also reunited with my 2014 New Bizarro Author Series classmate Scott Cole, and met a wonderful couple from the UK that knew my work from that same series.

I should do this kind of stuff more often. I really should. I hope I come back to embracing it soon. Seeing so many authors, readers, and fans was an invigorating tonic.

Tom LucasLeave a comment

Cover Reveal Time!!!!

Wow, I’ve been sitting on this one. Very pleased to present the cover for Research Randy and the Mystery of Grandma’s Half-eaten Pie of Despair, coming out Halloween 2023.

Pre-orders for print and e-book available on Amazon as well as most booksellers.

ARCs and press kits are available for book reviewers and book bloggers. Leave a comment below and we’ll set it up.

Book Description:

The stars of a beloved series of children’s books, the clever Research Randy and his supernaturally sensitive sister Charlie, solved many cases in the idyllic coastal town of Serenity Bay to the delight of many readers over the last 30 years.

But now, suddenly transported to the creepy hamlet of Effingmouth, they find themselves in a bizarre place where nothing is what it seems, people are strange and secretive, and something awful lurks in the shadows.

This might be a mystery they don’t want to solve.

Research Randy reads like YA horror and can be if you want it to be. It’s also a weird mash-up of cosmic horror, eldritch terrors, nostalgia trip and a meta love letter to Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos.

Hope you check it out!

Tom LucasLeave a comment

Inspiration for Creative Writers

In the 2023 edition of The Writer’s Path, 8 more alumni of Full Sail University’s writing programs share their paths from graduation to success in their own words, without skipping over the adversity that stood in the way of their goals. Full of inspiration and motivation, The Writer’s Path proves that everyone’s journey to success is different… and seldom easy. Featuring essays from Gonzalo Ravelo, Khadijah Iman, Justin Anderson, Zach Perilstein, Marelize Roets, Francisco Ruestra, Keren Green, and Adam Kuta, with an introduction from educator and author Dr. Tom Lucas.

Something about my personal and professional life outside of creative writing…I have been an educator for nearly 18 years now. Until recently, I was the department chair in a creative writing BFA. Dream job, really. I taught a class on world building for just over ten years. I’m still in education, but since earning my doctorate (that’s why it’s been a minute since my last book), I’ve moved up the food chain.

Recently, I was asked by one of my former students and amazing writer, Wes Locher (check him out, especially if you are into video gaming and comics) to write the introduction to this year’s edition of The Writer’s Path.

Being a creative of any kind is tough. This is certainly true for writers, who spend all damn day in their head overthinking everything (ok sure, not all of them, but only the ones I trust). You spend a lot of time worrying about how it’s all going to work out. This short book, along with the 2022 edition, is a collection of inspiring essays for creative writers who are out there fighting the good fight.

This ebook is free on Smashwords. You can download it here. It’s also on Amazon for nearly free. Any money made from these titles on Amazon gets donated to organizations in need (such as ProLiteracy Worldwide and Literacy, Inc.). 

I hope you will find it as inspiring as I do.

Tom LucasLeave a comment