Codorus Press Heads Home

Author Tom Joyce (right) and unpaid, underage intern Andrew Pruden (son of author Scott B. Pruden), hold down the Codorus Press booth at Central PA ComicCon.

The Codorus Press crew was back on our ancestral turf of York, Pa., this past weekend joining in the fun at Central PA ComicCon.

This was our second year participating in the con, and wow, it’s grown! This year we were at the Old Main building of the York Fairgrounds, which made for a great and wide open venue with lots of room for vendors, customers, cosplayers and celebrities to mingle, buy merchandise, take pictures and just revel in the awesomeness.

Codorus Press Takes New York! Twice! ‘Cause We Have Stamina!

It’s going to be hard to turn around in New York City this weekend without hitting something Codorus Press related, which means our authors are busy, busy getting the word out about their fantastic books.

Gerry LaFemina

Tonight (Jan. 24), Gerry LaFemina – NYC punk rock vet and prolific poet Gerry LaFamina celebrates the release of his fantastic literary fiction offering Clamor with a Lower East Side shindig worthy of the book’s main character, Johnny Malice.

The party starts at 7 p.m. at Local 138, 138 Ludlow St. Not only will Gerry be reading from the novel, but there will also be music (of course), food, drink and some tasty giveaways. Don’t be surprised if you bump into a couple of other Codorus folks, including our great and glorious leader Wayne Lockwood and fellow authors Alex Segura and Tom Joyce.

Alex Segura

Speaking of which, if you don’t get enough Codorus Press awesomeness at Friday’s event, why not double your pleasure with another dose on Saturday at Enigma Bookstore (33-17 Crescent St., Astoria, N.Y.) – purveyors of literature about the odd, occult, horrific and science fictional – where Alex, Tom and Wayne will be in the house for An Evening with Codorus Press.

Tom Joyce

All the authors will read from their works, Alex from his Miami detective noir novel Silent City, Tom from his occult/horror/satire novel The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report, and Wayne from Acid Indigestion Eyes: Collected Essays and Musings on Generation X.

All three will have copies of their books for sale and will be happy to sign and dedicate your copy with something that you’re sure to treasure – or at least to show to friends and say “Isn’t that weird?” – for years to come.

Wayne Lockwood

In addition to reading and signing, Alex, Tom and Wayne are pretty likely to discuss what led to them writing their individual works and how they came to publish with Codorus Press. You can also take the opportunity to ask about what it is Codorus Press does and how we do it and get an answer straight from the horse’s – that would be Wayne’s –  mouth.

And knowing this crew, there’s a pretty – make that excellent – chance that the festivity will carry over from Enigma to a nearby establishment for beverages and what’s sure to be lots more enlightening conversation between our fine authors.

We’re especially excited about holding the event at Enigma, not just because we love them but because they’re also smack-dab in the middle of our neighborhood of Astoria, Queens. So brave the cold and head out to see the fine fellows of Codorus Press this weekend – you’ll be glad you did!

 

A Death in the Extended Codorus Press Family (Plus Some Happy News)

The literary world  mourned the loss of Amiri Baraka last week and we here at Codorus Press were especially sad to hear of his death at the age of 79.

For a man who, for much of his life, was perhaps known the most for being controversial, it’s important to note the positive ripples one person can put out into the universe without even realizing it.

In many ways, Amiri Baraka was the godfather of Codorus Press, since working on his final book of poetry was one of the moments that made our founder, Wayne Lockwood, suspect that he could start his own publishing house. You can get a better perspective on the influence Baraka had on Wayne in this post from his jazz blog.

And Now, the Good News …

Alex Segura, author of “Silent City,” speaks to the crowd at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla.

Codorus Press had an absolutely epic fall 2013, with the publication of three excellent works which spent the subsequent months garnering some excellent attention from all corners. Gerry LaFemina’s Clamor, Alex Segura’s Silent City and Tom Joyce’s The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report were all stellar additions to the Codorus Press catalog.

Each title made its own splash and covered the spectrum of writing from literary fiction to crime thriller to satirical horror. We’ve received a great combination of positive notices from other authors and impressive reader reviews. Each author has participated in his own events – such as Alex’s signings at the Mysterious Bookshop in Astoria, N.Y., and Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla. – as well as a couple of great group events like the Frostburg State University Indie Lit Festival (organized, incidentally, by Gerry LaFemina).

So what’s on tap for 2014? Well, a little rest, for one thing. But not so much that we won’t be busy hustling to sell all our titles at a variety of venues. Along with the regional book festivals that we’ve come to love (and who hopefully love us back), we’re branching out. A good portion of the Codorus crew (Tom, Wayne, Alex and possibly Gerry) will be in the house Jan. 25 at Enigma Bookstore in Astoria, N.Y. Tom and author Scott B. Pruden – the guys behind our two speculative fiction titles – will be appearing April 6 with their sci-fi/horror/fantasy brethren at the Central Pennsylvania ComicCon in Carlisle, Pa.

And that’s just within the next few months. Keep you ears open for more events by our authors individually and in groups, not to mention a slate of fall book festivals throughout the rest of the year (Frostburg will again be a pretty safe bet, and we’re hoping to once again hit the Baltimore Book Festival and maybe another ).

And no matter where it is, we hope to see you, our readers, when we’re out and about. If you’ve got someplace you’d like to see us, let us know. And if you want a Codorus Press author to visit you in your town, just give us a shout.

An excerpt from Alex Segura’s SILENT CITY. | Crimespree Magazine

An excerpt from Alex Segura’s SILENT CITY. | Crimespree Magazine.

Alex Segura’s Debut of ‘Silent City’ is a Sellout!

Alex Segura (second from right) shows off some copies of his debut novel “Silent City” at his launch event at the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City last night.

You know what’s even better than getting your first book in your hands? Watching 60 copies sail out the door at your first author event before the book has even officially come out!

Kudos to new Codorus Press author Alex Segura, who sold out of every single on-site copy of this fantastic thriller novel Silent City in one monumental evening at the Mysterious Bookshop in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood.

All these copies sold. Poof!

Alex, whose day job is working publicity, tapped his experience growing up in Miami, Fla., as well as his time on the staff of the Miami Herald newspaper, to inform the gritty, noir style of Silent City.

This isn’t your Golden Girls Miami, nor is it the one most of us know from Alex’s old Herald colleague Carl Hiaasen. He’s put his own spin and added unique flavors to the seedy underbelly of South Florida, and we couldn’t be happier for the amazing success from last night!

Feeling Frosty – The Codorus Press Crew Heads to Frostburg, Md.

It’s a late festival season for the Codorus Press crew, but we’re getting things off to a great start with our second annual appearance at the Western Maryland Indie Lit Festival in beautiful Frostburg, Md.

The first time we hit Frostburg was a bounty of awesomeness for all our authors. Codorus founder Wayne Lockwood and co-founder Scott B. Pruden appeared on a couple of panels each, and the same goes for this year. We love to talk about writing and we’ll do it until your ears bleed, so please feel free to interrupt us before that happens.

Last year we also go to know über prolific author Jessica McHugh, who we’d originally bumped into at the Baltimore Book Festival, as her publisher’s booth was right next door. When Scott sat on the sci-fi and fantasy panel, he joined now Nebula Award-winning short story writer Andy Duncan, also a fellow University of South Carolina alum, in speaking on the topic. (They each managed to refrain from joining in a call-response cheer of “Game!” … “Cocks!”

We also got to know Gerry LaFemina, part of the faculty at Frostburg State University (which hosts the festival), and will be publishing his forthcoming novel Clamor before the end of 2013. Codorus author Tom Joyce, meanwhile, perpetrated the usual lunacy and built some buzz for his novel, The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report, which launched over the summer.

All in all a pretty productive visit, wouldn’t you say?

Tom will be back with us again this year with actual copies of Freak Foundation ( or FFOR, as we like to call it), promotional information on forthcoming title Silent City by Alex Segura, and we’ll also be joined by Junior Deputy Codorus Press Intern, Andrew Pruden, Scott’s 9-year-old son, who’ll be offering his own original work, the short story “Animal Crime Fighters.”

Perhaps best of all, we got to meet and interact with dozens of writers, publishers and – most importantly – readers. We have no doubt the same will be said for this year’s event.

We hope you can join us if you happen to be rambling around the mountains of western Maryland tomorrow at the Frostburg State University Creative Writing Center. Things get rolling at around 11 a.m. and we’ll be in the house until 6 p.m..

 

Tom Joyce Welcomes You to the Freak (Foundation) Show

We’re thrilled to announce that this week sales of The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report by longtime Codorus Press compatriot Tom Joyce went live online, and that the buzz that had already been building about its release is continuing now that it’s out there in readers’ hands.

Lucky early-adopters had already been able to grab copies through hand sales and Goodreads giveaways, but now it’s out there for everyone to enjoy.

And enjoy, you shall.

What’s it about? Here’s a little taste from the book jacket:

Masked worshippers of a bloodthirsty, ancient god — calling themselves The Slain — have the Central Pennsylvania city of Batley under siege. Between slugs of rotgut, a skeptical operative must use wits and bare knuckles to connect a part-time faerie queen, the sordid history of a carnival and a reclusive cult leader who may have unleashed unearthly evil. The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report is a shell game of a novel that combines elements of hard-boiled mysteries, occult thrillers and dark social satire. It’s H.P. Lovecraft meets Elmore Leonard by way of the Marx Brothers.

Wow! A little something for everyone. Early reviews are enormously positive and so far reader response has been wonderful.

Linda D. Addison, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend, calls FFOR “Mind-altering mystery.”

“Each character was so real that I found myself forgetting this was fiction,” she adds. “It’s impossible to believe this is a first novel. I can’t wait to read the next work from this highly inventive author.”

Not too shabby. But we’re not surprised. Tom’s ear for dialogue has been finely tuned from years as a voracious reader and newspaper journalist, and the plot is a whirlwind of unforgettable and absurd situations that keep the story moving forward at a breakneck pace.

We’re thrilled to have this full-length work from Tom, and we’re looking forward to pulling together a number of his excellent short stories in an anthology sometime soon. Pester him on his website to see if he’ll post one to give you a little taste.

In the meantime, Tom and Scott B. Pruden, author of our debut title, Immaculate Deception, are working to team up on some appearances at horror and sci-fi conventions in late 2013 and through 2014 (complete with Tom’s signature sword-swallowing, Three-Card-Monte games and various feats of sleight of hand).

Stay tuned for details on those, and make sure to order FFOR right away so you can see what all the fuss is about.

Alex Segura’s ‘Silent City’ Set for Fall Publication

Here at Codorus Press, we’re always looking for the best and brightest – in any genre. Be it memoir, poetry, sci-fi, humor or mystery. Today, we’re happy to formally announce the latest addition to the Codorus library: Silent City, by Alex Segura.

Silent City gives readers a tour of the seedier side of Miami through the lens of washed up journalist Pete Fernandez, back in his hometown of Miami after the sudden death of his father. Pete’s a mess, slowly drinking himself to death, on the brink of losing his middle-management newspaper job and his fiancée just left him.

But when a co-worker he barely knows asks Pete to locate a missing daughter, Pete finds himself dragged into a tale of murder, drugs, double-crosses and memories bursting from the black heart of the Miami underworld – and his father’s past.

Alex Segura is a Miami native now residing in New York City. This is his first novel. Alex also plays guitar and sings in the New York indie rock band Faulkner Detectives. To learn more about Alex, visit his website at http://www.alexsegura.com.

“Codorus Press has a special place in its heart for writers who take risks with characterization and can bend genre rules,” said Codorus Press Publisher Wayne Lockwood. “Alex Segura is one of those writers, and Silent City is one of those books. We’re happy to be its home.”

Silent City will be available in bookstores and all major online vendors on Oct. 29. It is the first in a series.

To request a review copy or for more info on Silent City, please contact Liv Lansdale at publicity@codoruspress.com

Dispatches from the Codorus Universe

The holidays are hopping around the Codorus Press offices as our band of elves looks ahead to 2013 (assuming we don’t all die in a flaming apocalyptic ball later this week … if so: Waiter? Another pint, please?).

But we’re not really focusing on the end of the world. We’ve got too much going on to waste our time on silly things like extinction.

Want to get an idea of how busy we’ve been? Just take a poke around the Interwebs, my friend. There’s plenty of Codorus Press treasure to be found.

You know you’ve made an impression on a book reviewer when a few months after he’s reviewed your book he’s drawing upon it to make a point in a subsequent issue of his publication.

That’s the happy situation our founder, musical director and shaman, Wayne Lockwood, has found himself in this month. Andrew Andrews, publisher and editor of the blog True Review, gave Wayne an extensive shout-out, referencing our great and glorious leader’s essay collection, Acid Indigestion Eyes: Collected Essays and Musings on Generation X, in his column Tyranny of the Same.

In it, Andrews riffs on personal damage the devastation of Superstorm Sandy wrought and notes Wayne’s assertion that the Internet has made it possible for all things from all periods of culture to exist at once. We’re nothing if not deep around here.

Earlier in the fall, Mike Argento, author of Don’t Be Cruel, announced the release of the novel’s e-book version through our friends at Crossroad Press. That means the novel is now available for nearly every electronic reader device out there.

But Mike isn’t just an author of gut-bustingly hilarious crime fiction – he’s also a full-time (and highly regarded) newspaper columnist with some prestigious awards under his belt. You can always keep up on his latest work at the sight for his newspaper (and former employer of much of the Codorus crew), The York Daily Record.

We’re excited about the spring 2013 release of longtime Codorus Press team member Tom Joyce’s first novel, The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report. This multi-layered satirical occult thriller promises to appeal to fans of everything from H.P. Lovecraft to Stephen King to the Marx Brothers.

Over at Tom Joyce’s Chamber of the Bizarre, he’s been working away perpetrating his usual lunacy and taking some time out to post a favorable review of the new novel Pins by Jessica McHugh, a frequent flyer at many of the book festivals the Codorus crew attends and a valued friend of the press. Oh, and in case that isn’t incentive enough, her book is about strippers. Now, doesn’t that … Hey, where’d you go? Ah, never mind.

Those of you who haven’t abandoned us to go page through Pins looking for the good parts might also like to know that Scott B. Pruden, author of debut Codorus title Immaculate Deception, had a nice essay on his former boss Ray Daub published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec. 12. He followed that up with a blog posting relating how Ray influenced a particular character from his novel.

It turns out Ray, who Scott worked for as he designed, built and installed a 3/4-scale walk through display of Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol in the mid-1980s, served as the physical inspiration for William Z. Robert, a low-rent, chain smoking demon featured as a major secondary character in Scott’s novel.

Sleight of Hand, Mighty in Marketing

Codorus Press founder Wayne Lockwood has put forth several great posts recently on our visit to the Baltimore Book Festival Sept. 28-30, discussing how the sleight of hand and magical illusion skills of Codorus author Tom Joyce contributed immensely to our success there. At the risk of redundancy, we’ll talk about a few of them here, too.

From a cash-free shell game crafted to reflect the process of writing a novel to just plain ol’ sword swallowing, Tom’s antics were actually a concerted effort by us at Codorus to ramp up our opportunities to interact with passers by and hopefully sell them some books. Here’s a look:

What we got from this was fourfold. First, people walked by with their mouths gaping 0pen, not really believing what they were seeing. Second, this set up a crowd for Tom’s shell game. Third, since the shell game bit was performed on top of our handy-dandy sheet of butcher paper, we could then invite folks to share with us their favorite books by writing them down (we’ll feature the books from our Baltimore weekend in an upcoming post. Fourth, seeing what they wrote would give us some insight into what they might like from the Codorus Press catalog.

It was easy to see the results. Sales for the three festival days jumped considerably over those from last year, and we saw a noticeably surge in traffic through our booth. And perhaps the best part is that Tom’s interest in things magical directly informed the plot of his upcoming Codorus Press title, The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report, slated for a 2013 release.