Several months ago I donated my story “Roadside Memorials” to the RAGE AGAINST THE NIGHT ANTHOLOGY on behalf of my friend and HWA president Rocky Wood who is fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease.  The book is now available in both paperback and ebook editions and I urge you to check it out.  Rocky’s a good man and the money raised is going to an excellent cause – keeping him healthy!

Under the onslaught of supernatural evil, the acts of good people can seem insignificant, but a courageous few stand apart. These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil.

Rage Against the Night features the megastars of dark fantasy and horror—including Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Nicholson, Nancy Holder, Sarah Langan, and many, many more.

The full table of contents includes:

• The Gunner’s Love Song—Joe McKinney
• Keeping Watch—Nate Kenyon
• Like Part of the Family—Jonathan Maberry
• The Edge of Seventeen—Alexandra Sokoloff
• The View from the Top—Bev Vincent
• Afterward, There Will Be a Hallway—Gary A. Braunbeck
• Following Marla—John R. Little
• Magic Numbers—Gene O’Neill
• Tail the Barney—Stephen M. Irwin
• The Nightmare Dimension—David Conyers
• Roadside Memorials—Joseph Nassise
• Dat Tay Vao—F. Paul Wilson
• Constitution—Scott Nicholson
• Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle—Peter Straub
• Agatha’s Ghost—Ramsey Campbell
• Blue Heeler—Weston Ochse
• Sarah’s Visions—Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
• More Than Words—David Niall Wilson
• Chillers—Lisa Morton
• Changed—Nancy Holder
• Dead Air—Gary Kemble
• Two Fish to Feed the Masses—Daniel G. Keohane
• Fenstad’s End—Sarah Langan
• Fair Extension—Stephen King
• Rocky Wood, Skeleton Killer—Jeff Strand

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1108178635

Next Tuesday HarperCollins will publish BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES, the first book in my new zombie steampunk alternate history series known as The Great Undead War.

Here, for the first time, is the story behind the story. Follow the hero of The Great Undead War series, Captain Michael “Madman” Burke, leader of Burke’s Marauders, in the early days of the war, when the Germans are just beginning their field tests of a new weapon.

A weapon that will eventually come to change the face of the war itself. A weapon that will resurrect the bodies of the dead, both friend and foe alike, and turn them into flesh-hungry monsters. A weapon that will come to be known as corpse gas.

Contains:
* The Sharp End – a prequel story introducing the characters and events of the Great Undead War series

* A Timeline of the Great Undead War, identifying major events and military battles

* The first two chapters of BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES, the first book in the Great Undead War series

Enlist in the war effort!  Get yours today for just a $1.99 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

(Cover art by Brad Cooper)

Those awesome folks over at Graphic Audio are at it again – this time with the audio version of THE HERETIC!

The Heretic

At the end of the First Crusade, the church created a monastic military order known as the Knights Templar. Now, rising up from the ashes of history, they are the Vatican’s last defense in the war between good and evil…

Cade Williams is no ordinary man. His ability to cross over to the other side makes him uniquely qualified to command the Church’s special operations division. As a modern-day Knight, Cade can use the curse that has scarred his soul as a weapon against the forces of darkness. But a new kind of unholy war is brewing — and soon Cade may be the last man standing…between the living and the dead.

The desecration of Templar cemeteries has sparked a full-scale investigation. Cade and his team suspect that a cabal of necromancers is behind it all. Their purpose: to claim the legendary powers of a lost holy relic for their own ungodly campaign.

For Cade, there’s only one way to stop them — by tracking the dead himself…crossing the most sacred of battle lines…and facing his own terrifying demons.

Release Date: February 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59950-836-8

Download audio file (TEMPLAR001sample.mp3)

Directed by: Johann Dettweiler

Cast: Richard Rohan, David Coyne, Terence Aselford, Steven Carpenter, Mort Shelby, Bradley Smith, Michael Glenn, Thomas Penny, Alyssa Wilmoth, Thomas Keegan, Nanette Savard, Tim Carlin, Ken Jackson, Alexander Strain, Drew Kopas, Eric Messner, Johann Dettweiler and Joe Brack.

Book Adapted for GraphicAudio by: Johann Dettweiler

Dialogue Editor: Johann Dettweiler

Sound Designer: Johann Dettweiler

Original Artwork by: Jahbulani Ori

Producers: Richard Rohan and Duane Beeman

Executive Producer: Anji Cornette

Apparently, its audio week for me, as I’ve got some more news to share in that regard.  GraphicAudio (a smokin hot audiobook company that you all need to check out!) has released my third Rogue Angel novel, TEAR OF THE GODS, this week and once again I think they’ve done a fabulous job.

Tear of the Gods

Release Date: February 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59950-835-1

Download audio file (RA031sample.mp3)

Directed by: Nanette Savard

Starring: Nanette Savard, Colleen Delany, Gregory Gorton, Richard Rohan, Alexander Strain, James Lewis, Patrick Bussink, Danny Gavigan, Christopher Scheeren, Bradley Smith, Terence Aselford, Mort Shelby, Steven Carpenter, James Konicek, Christopher Graybill, Yasmin Tuazon, Eric Messner, David Coyne, Alyssa Wilmoth, Kimberly Gilbert, Michael Glenn, Joe Brack, Karen Carbone and Nathanial Perry.

Book Adapted for GraphicAudio by: Timothy Lynch

Dialogue Editors: Brian Rogers and Nathanial Perry

Sound Designers: Brian Rogers and Nathanial Perry

Theme Music by: Chris Rohan

Additional Redshirts by: The Dead Giveaways

Producers: Richard Rohan and Duane Beeman

Executive Producer: Anji Cornette

The wait has been long, I know, but trust me when I tell you it will be worth it.  INFERNAL GAMES, book four of the Templar Chronicles series, will be released on Wednesday, February 15th.  To start it will be available in ebook format on the Kindle, Nook, and iPad platforms.  Shortly thereafter I hope to have a paperback edition as well.  It will sell for $3.99, just like all the other books in the series.

But…if you preorder it now, you can have it for $2.99, which is a 25% discount off the cover price.  In addition, you’ll be featured on the acknowledgements page for showing your support.

So what, exactly, is INFERNAL GAMES about?  I’m glad you asked…

[Spoiler Alert - if you haven't read TEAR IN THE SKY, you probably don't want to read any farther...]

The Templars have emerged victorious following their battle with the Chiang Shih, but paid a high price in doing so.  The dead line the halls of the local commanderies and the survivors are both physically and spiritually exhausted.  Estimates suggest it will take years for the Order to recover.

Even Echo Team has been decimated; its ranks reduced by half.  Knight Commander Cade Williams managed to survive his journey deep into the heart of the Beyond and his subsequent confrontation with the Adversary, but he has returned a changed man; his thirst for vengeance quenched but his spirit broken.  As a result, command of Echo has passed to the newly-promoted Captain Riley.

It is the moment Simon Logan, former leader of the Council of Nine and the man once known as the Necromancer, has been waiting for.  In a daring prison break, he frees himself from Templar control and vanishes into the night.  Given the difficulty the Order had in capturing him the first time, the assignment to track Logan down falls to those who know him best – Captain Riley and the newly reformed Echo Team. 

But rather than waiting for Echo to coming looking for him, the Necromancer takes the battle to them instead; luring former Commander Williams away from his home and stealing the physical form of his wife, Gabrielle, a woman caught somewhere between life and death.

It is perhaps the one act that could rouse Cade from the grey haze his life has become.  As he ruthlessly tracks the Necromancer through this world and the next,  Cade can’t help but ask himself what Logan might want with a half-dead woman and the man who had literally travelled to hell and back to rescue her.

One thing is for certain – Cade won’t rest until Gabrielle is by his side once more.

Reserve your copy today and it will be emailed to you as soon as its available on February 15th!

SORRY- THIS OFFER IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Bestselling Authors Joseph Nassise and Jon F. Merz Launch HELLstalkers Series with Barnes & Noble

December 22, 2011:  International bestselling authors Joseph Nassise and Jon F. Merz announced today the launch of a new series of novels that combine science fiction, horror, and action-adventure into the perfect blend for any genre fiction fan. 

HELLstalkers tells the story of an elite group of soldiers brought together to fight an invasion of otherworldly creatures that have infiltrated our world as a result of an accident at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.  Led by former US Army Ranger Memphis Stone, the HELLstalkers unit is comprised of an international cast of former special operations and intelligence operators who are devoted to tracking down and killing the wide array of monsters, aliens, and other creatures that come through portals into our world.

“The best part of this launch,” said Nassise, “is that we are doing it with Barnes & Noble, one of the premier forces in the changing face of publishing.”  The first HELLstalkers novel, THE CERBERUS PROTOCOL, will be available exclusively on the Barnes & Noble.com website for Nook users for thirty days.  After that time, the novel will also be available for other popular e-reading platforms, including the Kindle, the Kobo, and the iPad.

THE CERBERUS PROTOCOL will officially go on sale at BarnesandNoble.com on December 27th.  According to Merz, the series will be “a non-stop roller coaster ride – like the X-Files on steroids.”  Each new HELLstalkers book will feature exotic locations, bizarre villains, crazy characters, and tons of adrenaline-charged action.

Nassise and Merz are no strangers to writing action-packed material.  Nassise’s Templar Chronicles is an international bestselling urban fantasy series in multiple languages with audio rights recently scooped up by Graphic Audio.  Merz’s supernatural espionage Lawson Vampire series is a cult favorite and is headed to television in 2012.  Both authors have also written a number of books in the Rogue Angel adventure series.

For more information on HELLstalkers, please visit the official series website at http://www.hellstalkers.com or join the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/hellstalkers.

CRADLE OF SOLITUDE – ROGUE ANGEL #33

Today marks the release – in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook formats -  of EYES TO SEE, the first book in my new urban fantasy series from Tor.  I’m very excited about this series and am looking forward to hearing what fans have to say about Jeremiah and his companions, Whisper and Scream.  Fans of my Templar Chronicles series will also get the chance to re-unite with the hedge witch, Denise Clearwater, who made an appearance in TEAR IN THE SKY.

Here’s what folks have been saying so far:

“…a rich, exciting, emotionally resonant blend of horror, thriller, and fantasy.”

—Booklist

“A well constructed backdrop, sturdy plot, and characters who develop along with the story…”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Nassise’s clean, lean writing style heightens the brisk pace of the novel, keeping events clearly focused even as they barrel along towards the novel’s conclusion…sure to delight and intrigue his growing number of fans.”

—Cemetery Dance

“Brings urban fantasy to a new level. Heartbreaking, deeply insightful, powerful, and genuinely thrilling. Joe Nassise has just raised the bar for the whole genre.”

—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author

“A great read and unlike almost anything else I’ve read in urban fantasy: It’s hard-boiled and dark, definitely its own beast. Damn, this man can write! I’ll be standing in line for book two.”

—Kat Richardson, bestselling author of the Greywalker series

“At last—something new under the urban fantasy moon. Nassise’s visceral prose and dark, gritty setting propel the blind Hunt and his unique ghostly companions, Whisper and Scream, through an urban nightmare where nothing is what it seems.”

—F. Paul Wilson, bestselling author of The Keep and the Repairman Jack Series

“Joe Nassise’s driven, sardonic hero Jeremiah Hunt sees a whole lot more than dead people in Eyes to See. Vividly set in Boston, the novel follows Hunt through a labyrinth of undead dangers and unexpected emotion as he seeks his missing daughter and finds an unearthly serial killer. The climax, both thrilling and moving, will stick with you.”

—Alex Bledsoe, author of The Girls with Games of Blood and Burn Me Deadly

“I couldn’t stop ready—I had to see how Hunt was going to untangle the mystery that’s overwhelmed his life. Hunt’s an intriguing character and the world Joe Nassise has built for him is full of supernatural creepiness that will have you leaving the lights on when you go to sleep.”

—Carrie Vaughn New York Times bestselling author of the Kitty Norville series

Tor.com has the first few chapters up as an exclusive excerpt today and a sample of the audiobook edition can also be listened to over at Audible.com.  Drop by, check it out, and if it looks like something you might enjoy, please pick up a copy of your own or even a copy to give to a friend.

Barnes and Noble.com

Amazon.com

We’re exactly seven days away from the release of my latest novel, EYES TO SEE, book one of the Jeremiah Hunt Chronicle, and I thought I’d do something special for those who pre-order the book ahead of release.

Right now, the hardcover edition is available for a special preorder price of $15.63, which is a cool 32% off the regular price.  The Kindle and Nook editions are available for $10.99.

So, here’s the deal.  Email me a copy of your pre-order receipt and I’ll email you back your choice of a free Kindle or Nook edition of The Heretic (book one in my Templar series) or Riverwatch, a stand-alone horror novel perfect for Halloween. 

It’s a buy one, get one free kinda deal and its only good for the next seven days, so if you were thinking of picking up a copy of EYES now is the time to do it.

Email those receipts to me at jnassise at gmail.com and tell me which free book you’d like in return and what format (Nook or Kindle) you prefer.  You can learn more the books by clicking on the covers below.