The Weird of Hali: Red Hook

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to report that the sixth novel in The Weird of Hali, my epic fantasy series with tentacles, is now available for sale. Those of you who are in range of New York City might also be interested to know that there'll be a book release party in Red Hook on this coming Sunday, August 18, from 2 to 5 pm at Sunny's Bar, 253 Conover Street, Brooklyn, NY. There's no cover charge, the food and beverages at Sunny's are great, and I'll be reading a chapter from the final volume of the series, The Weird of Hali: Arkham -- what's not to like?  I'll look forward to seeing fans of the series there. (Please RSVP to doctorwestchester42 at (one more than F mail) dot com if you'll be able to make it.)

In the meantime, here's the cover blurb for this month's bouncing baby shoggoth...

Beneath Brooklyn's Sidewalks...

 

The last thing Justin Martense wants to do is fling himself back into the ancient war between the Great Old Ones and their relentless enemies. Now that his family’s inherited illness has shown up, he wants nothing more than to wrap up eleven years of farming in the Catskill town of Lefferts Corners and figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Suddenly a letter from his old friend Owen Merrill shatters those plans—for Owen is in terrible danger in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, and the letter carries a cryptic call for help. With his friends Arthur and Rose Wheeler, he hurries south through a half-ruined landscape to try to answer the call. 

 

But more waits beneath the crumbling sidewalks of the decaying Red Hook neighborhood than Justin can imagine: a half-human sorceress with strange powers, shapeless horrors from the deeps of time, and a colossal device left buried in the living rock by the serpent folk of ancient Valusia, which may hold the key to the fulfillment of the Weird of Hali. The enemies of the Great Old Ones are in Red Hook as well, searching for the device, for Owen—and for Justin. Before he can overcome the dangers that surround him, Justin must gather the clues from a century-old mystery, journey through time into the forgotten past of New York City, obtain a key of silver from a long-dead witch, bring that back to his own time, and then take it into the deep places under Brooklyn—down a stair that no living person can descend...

**************

Interested? Copies can be ordered directly from the publisher here.  

Comments

Great news!

[(Anonymous)]

Best wishes from the UK, albeit a bit jealous I can't be there!
Enjoy!!!

Re: Great news!

[ecosophia]

Thank you! I'll lift a pint in honor of my UK fans.

Directions to Sunny's Bar, Red Hook

[(Anonymous)]

For a flyer with directions to Sunny’s Bar click at http://www.transitionwestchester.org/RedHookFlyer.pdf

Pleas copy and paste the link, as the link is case-sensitive.

Re: Directions to Sunny's Bar, Red Hook

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this! Here's a live link.

Brooklyn Grange

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

I just received my copy from Founders House and am already a good way through.

I won't be up in the Red Hook area until September, so I will miss the release party. But I would note that the Brooklyn Grange just opened their third rooftop urban organic farm, this one in Sunset Park just around the corner from Red Hook.

The new farm is about 55,000 square feet of cultivated area on a 140,000 square foot rooftop. And they are having an open house every Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. now though October.

Google maps says this is a little more than 2 miles from Sunny's Bar, so you might even be able to swing by for a visit. (More information at https://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com/farms)

We will need to see more of this kind of thinking if we are going to successfully adapt our cities for what is ahead...

-- Ailin

Re: Brooklyn Grange

[ecosophia]

I won't have time to make it there on this visit, as I'll be coming via train from Providence and returning the same day, but thanks for this. Urban gardening -- rooftop and otherwise -- is of course an important ingredient.

I wonder if Brooklyn Grange has ever considered getting in touch with the Grange aka Patrons of Husbandry, the grand old lodge organization for farmers, and looking at the possibility of an actual Grange in Brooklyn. We had one in a Seattle neighborhood back when I lived in the Soggy City, and had some useful contacts with the local organic gardening scene.

I wonder what will happen to the Chardonnier's library

[(Anonymous)]

I really liked that library.

Re: I wonder what will happen to the Chardonnier's library

[ecosophia]

Well, fortunately, they've got ample time to move everything and do the necessary remodeling in the Chaudronniers' new home further inland, and a first-class sorceress to cast the necessary spells, so I suspect the new library will be rather reminiscent of the old. Still, it's one of those things -- with sea levels rising worldwide (in the story, and also in reality) a lot of things are going to be lost.

[(Anonymous)]

Cheers, everyone! I'm far from home until Monday, so disappointed to be missing this! I've worked a few blocks from Sunny's for the last decade; it's a good spot. And Red Hook is a great setting for this series! A walk around any of those old cobblestone blocks back by the water is worthwhile, even though a lot of the beautifully overgrown vacant have recently been turned into new, ugly condos. I'd also recommend asking whoever's keeping bar to tell you about what it was like there after Sandy a few years ago.
Enjoy!
Jonathan.

[jpc2]

Hopefully it will be here Saturday.

Went back and read 'Inside a Magical Lodge'. About every other page or so it seemed that I was reminded of some tidbit of WOH. Fun!

[ecosophia]

Here's hoping! I know some people have copies already, so it may just be a matter of the vagaries of the post office.

As for Inside a Magical Lodge and my fiction, good. You're paying attention!

[(Anonymous)]

👍👋👏. Sell a zillion copies!d

[ecosophia]

Thank you! I'd like to. ;-)

Books for Sale

[(Anonymous)]

Will books be for sale at the event?

Re: Books for Sale

[ecosophia]

No, not as far as I know.

WoH series

[(Anonymous)]

Just got it and I know it'll be a great adventure like the preceding ones. While these will feel familiar to those who love mysteries, adventure, and spec fic in general, there are glimpses of such transcendent vision. My fav so far is when Owen briefly experiences the mind of Phauz. Looking forward to much more of this!!

Re: WoH series

[ecosophia]

Thank you! That's one of the things that got lost from fantasy fiction in recent decades, and I prefer a good strong shot of it in my fantastic tales, thank you. ;-)

Books

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sure John would be willing to sign any books you might bring to the event. I'm certainly bringing mine. Hope to finish it before Sunday.

Re: Books

[ecosophia]

Good heavens, yes. If someone's willing to do me the courtesy of buying one of my books, the least I can do is do them the courtesy of signing it.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I read it over last weekend and what a fine read it was John. I can safely say I have no idea where the story is going, which is a bonus. I also thought the shoggoth concerto was excellent and like the way it dove tails with the main story. I will be sad when the Hali series comes to an end. It’s been refreshingly different and another work colleague who is also an hp lovecraft fan has also been enjoying it. Cheers, averagejoe.

[ecosophia]

Thank you! If it's any consolation, I've got three more novels in the same world currently in the works -- The Nyogtha Variations, which is the sequel to The Shoggoth Concerto and finishes up the story of Brecken and Sho; A Wind from Hyperborea, which is a rollicking adventure in Greenland and the seas about it, complete with undead pirates and the Great Race of Yith; and The Stones of Sentinel Mountain, in which Asenath Merrill is the central character, and where we finally find out what really happened in "The Dunwich Horror." I think that's going to wind things up with the tentacle franchise, but we'll see.

More books coming!

[(Anonymous)]

Hip, hip, huzzah! Not that the series will come to an end, as all things must, but that there are so many more in the works. It's been a great ride so far, and the blessings of the Young Goddess on you and your house, as well as the blessings of Her Mother.

Re: More books coming!

[ecosophia]

Thank you!

Springtime for Snowflakes

[sothismedias]

I'm almost finished reading "Springtime for Snowflakes: Social Justice and It's Postmodern Parentage" by Michael Rectenwald. I recommend it. I had a passing familiarity with Postmodernism. It was partially why I dropped out of college: it seemed to me the only thing you could do with a degree was keep going to school to learn bizarre intellectual theories so you could get a job at a school to teach the next wave of "scholars" who can't do anything with that degree, so they keep going to school, to get advanced to degrees, and try to find some arcane niche, etc. etc.

Point being the history of postmodernism as Rectenwald laid it out and his experience in the belly of the beast sounded like some of it could have been in the playbooks of the radiance.

Congrats on your reading this past weekend. I'm sure it was a tentacular delight.

Justin Patrick Moore

Great story

[(Anonymous)]

Finished the book and loved it. It was a nice touch working Lovecraft's drinking song in it.

--lievenm

Re: Great story

[ecosophia]

Thank you! I tried to weave in a lot of references to Lovecraft stories, and to other tales in the Mythos, into my work.