Anthony M. Strong

AUTHOR

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Audio Book News

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So many people have asked about the audio versions of the John Decker series, and I’m happy to say that audio is now available for the first four books plus the prequel, Soul Catcher. The fifth book in the series, Whitechapel Rising, has been recorded, and is in post production as I write this. It should be available on amazon in one to two months.

I am finishing up the sixth book in the series, Black Tide, this week, and then it will be off to the studio for audio recording.

In the meantime, for all those wishing to listen to the John Decker series, head over to Amazon or Audible and enjoy!

Crow Song Released!

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Crow Song, a collection of shorter stories that was almost thirty years in the making, is out now.

Sometimes, when I am between writing full-length books, I get an idea (or fourteen) for tales that pack a punch in a few pages. If you like shorter stories, varying from just two pages to full novella length, I hope you will check out Crow Song. 

New Release!

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Grendel’s Labyrinth has released, and the next book in the John Decker series, Whitechapel Rising, is now on presale. I’m excited about both of these books and have enjoyed writing them. Beowulf has fascinated me since I read it in school many years ago. Unlike most of the dry dead literature we were forced to consume, this actually had some bite! A real monster. While the language might have been hard to grasp for one so young, it still captivated me because, well… Monsters. If you have to read something like that, you might as well have monsters. Then there’s Whitechapel Rising, a new take on Jack the Ripper, which is on presale now on Amazon. Both books are part of the John Decker series, which includes a prequel novella, Soul Catcher. There is also a 100-page origin story available at the end of the first book in the series, What Vengeance Comes.

It’s been a long time coming…

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It’s here, people!

Crimson Deep. The long-awaited next book in the John Decker series. Wow. That took a while, I know. But in fairness, I haven’t been idle. The last few years have been full of writing. I penned a children’s book – which sits on my hard drive in glorious unpublished seclusion. Maybe it will see the light of day at some point, maybe it won’t. All writers have drafts of books laying around, like the ghosts of Christmas’s yet to come. I also finished a full-length manuscript which is doing the rounds as we speak. Not to mention dipping my toes in the Hollywood scene and working on three movie scripts over the past two years. And two of them are comedies… Yes – I can be funny… I think… Maybe. At the very least it’s a departure from my normal writing.

But back to John Decker. I’ve neglected him for far too long, and now he gets a whole new adventure set in the deep Florida woodlands. Not only that, but I have outlines for four more adventures fleshed out already. I can’t reveal what those will be, except to say that the next one will likely take place in Ireland, and center around an age-old legend at a mysterious ruin. I know it took a while for Decker to return, but now that he’s back, he isn’t going anywhere. So enjoy Crimson Deep, and watch this space, because there’s lots more on the way.

A new John Decker book.

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It’s been a while, I know. But the time is finally here to write a new John Decker book. I can’t tell you much about it right now, but I can tell you that I’m about a quarter of the way finished, and hope to have it out later this year. Exciting? You bet. John Decker is my favorite character, and it’s been fun getting inside his head once more. I’ll let you know more as the story progresses,  but for now, my advice is that if you want to be among the first to know when it is released, then sign up for my mailing list at the link below.

Join my Mailing List

Until then, happy reading.

Anthony.

My pilgrimage to the Stanley Hotel.

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As many of you know, in February I embarked, along with Sonya, on a six week adventure all across the west coast. We roamed from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and then down to San Diego, before weaving our way through Phoenix, Yuma, Albuquerque, and finally arriving in Denver before setting off on the last leg home to New Orleans. While we were in Colorado we decided to visit one of the great icons of horror literature, the Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for the Stephen King book, The Shining.

I read the novel many years ago, and consider it one of my favorite ghost stories, so the chance to visit the Overlook was not going to pass me by. And it didn’t disappoint. The hotel, located in Estes Park, Colorado and opened in 1909, is a gem, nestled at the entrance to the Rocky Mountains. But it’s the 1977 bestseller that seems to draw most visitors these days, at least if the gift shop selling everything from keychains to Room 217 door plaques is anything to go by. When I was there the bar room and dining room were empty, and it wasn’t hard to imagine Jack Torrence sitting there all alone, talking to a ghostly bartender, or roaming the empty halls.

 

The hotel is grand, imposing, and is reputed to be haunted in its own right. The antique Steinway piano once owned by Flora Stanley (at rear in the picture above) can sometimes be heard playing, even though there is not a pianist in sight. Mr. Stanley, unwilling to take leave of the hotel he loved, wanders the hallways, and has been photographed more than once in the billiards room, no doubt keeping an eye on things to make sure everything is up to his standards. There are at least four spirits that refuse to pass over to the other side, and standing in the grand entranceway one can almost feel them drawing close, whispering in the ears of those still living.

Eager to accommodate the hordes of King fans, the hotel offers a tour, which I would have loved to take. But alas we had our two doggies with us, and while they loved roaming the grounds (happily oblivious to the hotel’s supernatural reputation) they could not accompany us on the tour, so it will have to wait for another visit. Even so, I did manage to snag a coffee mug, and one of those aforementioned plaques for my writing room door.

With the sun setting over the mountains we headed back down to Denver, and turned the car homeward the next morning. All in all it was  great trip, and our visit to The Stanley will be a memory I will cherish for a long time, topping off a great day driving through the breathtaking, and  often awe inspiring, Rockies. A fitting end to our six week trek. Hopefully the ghosts of room 217 didn’t follow us back to New Orleans, although if they did it might give me a little inspiration of my own!