OUR SAVAGE ANATOMIES is my forthcoming 42,000-word short novel/long novella/does it really matter? to be published by Hybrid Sequence Media.
The humble origins of the strange beast began in Italy.
My girlfriend Alessandra and I were invited to stay at our friend Michaela's place in the Marche region, in the middle of Italy leaning eastward, August of 2021. Alessandra and I needed the break, so we took her up on it. Michaela had a large spare bedroom more like a small studio apartment, which was all we needed. Upon getting to her place after the long drive, we needed to stretch our legs. We walked up a tiny slope and, lo and behold, there was a massive field of late summer sunflowers. Burnt sunflowers. It was stunning.
At about the same time, there was an anthology call I was interested in writing for titled, Hybrid: Misfits, Monsters, and Other Phenomena, from Hybrid Sequence Media. I was not sure why, because I am not a horror writer who focuses on familiar tropes, but with that field as a starting point, and with the addition of more of the landscape--a triangle of red trees in the distance; Loretello, a small town more a village--the all-around vibe inspired by everything led me to...werewolves?
Really, John Claude?
I'd just completed another novel, Birdland (or Odd Blue; I'm doing a deep edit on it right now and am thinking Odd Blue might be a more appropriate title, Odd Blue being a creature from another dimension set on destroying the world...), a big, serious affair, and needed a mental break of sorts. I expected the short story for the antho call would suffice, but after writing, "Home Is Where the Howl Is," the reader's introduction to Rufus Skye and Sasha, two werewolves meeting under curious circumstances, and the mysterious Mister E, a vampire, I remember saying to Alessandra, "Y'know, I could run with this by adding one sentence at the end of the story." I let that thought marinate yet already knew something was up.
I wrote that extra sentence...and OUR SAVAGE ANATOMIES was born. The mutant king of the vampires, Jack Pandemonium, was born. As I was writing the novel/novella, everything and the kitchen sink was tossed into the mix. Everything! I would blurt out something to Alessandra about what was happening now in the tale, something utterly bizarre, totally off the rails, and I'm sure she was thinking, "He really is crazy. My boyfriend really is crazy."
And that's where we are now. The first step toward introducing everybody to these characters and the mad ride that is OUR SAVAGE ANATOMIES.
I even had my friend and excellent writer, Sunni Ellis (author of the fabulous Once Upon A Time In Mexico, "a rollicking, fully immersive wild west romp") read the novel/novella and in response, she said nice things and even wrote a blurb. Here's that blurb, to pique your interest even more:
"Our Savage Anatomies is a road trip, a love story and a monstrous manipulation of vampire/werewolf politics with a brutal twist. Trigger warning...dark scenes with maximum damage and truly terrifying transformation that will change the way you think about lycanthropy. Buckle up!"
I'll post some photos from Loretello in a few weeks as Alessandra and I will be visiting our friend again at the end of the month. Can't wait to get there, that place is inspiring.
(I actually started a metafiction take on the novel and area a while back, maybe I'll dig into that, too.)
Anyway, that's it for this blog post. The next one will include more of the seeds of where OUR SAVAGE ANATOMIES came from...including the, um...Downton Abbey connection.
What the...?
You'll see.
Pre-orders soon, but until then, hey, I've got other books you should check out...
BUY A BOOK (with links to books):
my Bram Stoker Award finalist debut novel, RIDING THE CENTIPEDE, my second, trippy horror novel, THE WILDERNESS WITHIN, and/or the expanded version of my second collection, containing 25 stories culled from that collection, all of my third collection, Occasional Beasts, and half of my debut collection, The Dark is Light Enough for Me, AUTUMN IN THE ABYSS REDUX.
Happy reading!
