Horror Aficionados discussion

This is the Group Read with Guest Author, Jonathan Janz, as we read his latest tale of terror, THE DARK GAME. Janz is a long-time favorite here on Horror Aficionados. If you haven't had the Janz experience, you really need to sign up for this one. You won't find an author more engaging that Jonathan. You will soon see why he's so beloved. So, please help me welcome back to HA, Jonathan Janz!

Welcome Jonathan!

Me too!

Welcome (back again) Jonathan!
Wondering which writers you may have had in mind writing that book...and would you be host or guest?

I won't be joining in because I've already read it, but I adored The Dark Game and I really hope all of you do, too!

I've been meaning to read something from Janz for some time now, and coming off that great interview he did on the Horror Show w/ Brian Keene podcast recently, I'm definitely in.

Great! Another fabulous excuse to read a Jonathan Janz novel - as if I needed one. I'm in. Just got to finish The Sorrows first (which I am loving, by the way)

Oh nice! I've been wanting to read this one!

I'm in! Sounds fantastic.

Count me in. Been looking for an excuse to read another Janz book, particularly this one. Welcome, Jonathan.

Howdy, everyone! And thank you so much, Ken, for the introduction and the opportunity. This will be a fantastic place to hang out this month. :-)

Elke wrote: "Me too!

Welcome (back again) Jonathan!
Wondering which writers you may have had in mind writing that book...and would you be host or guest?"

Great question! Here are just a few...

Roderick Wells was part Brian Keene, Stephen King, and Cormac McCarthy. And maybe some Hemingway.

Just a few other writers thrown into the stew are Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner, William Shakespeare, Elmore Leonard, Ray Bradbury, the Paul Giamatti character from SIDEWAYS, and more.

Welcome, Jonathan.

The book was fantastic.

My question is......how do people who know you react to the extremes between your reputation as a really nice guy and the subject matter you write about?

Jon Recluse wrote: "Welcome, Jonathan.

The book was fantastic.

My question is......how do people who know you react to the extremes between your reputation as a really nice guy and the subject matter you write about?"

Hey, Jon!

Frankly, they're stunned, I think. Occasionally, they just shake their heads wonderingly and dismiss it because I think they have a hard time reconciling it. But it's a strange brew for many to digest, to be sure.

*Addendum: I just saw your first line (with fantastic). Thank you!!! :-)

Jonathan, I can imagine.

One more question: does the book reflect how you feel writers are treated by the Powers That Be of the publishing world, through your own experience as a writer?

Jon Recluse wrote: "Jonathan, I can imagine.

One more question: does the book reflect how you feel writers are treated by the Powers That Be of the publishing world, through your own experience as a writer?"

Some of it is firsthand experience; much of it is anecdotal. For example, the Lucy Still character...I've heard of more than one than author like her. Young. Rock star. The Next Big Thing. Big advance, awesome reviews, everything you could want. And then the crash. The inevitable backlash. The sinking into obscurity and the bared meanness and jealousy of others. It's nightmarish, but it happens.

Woo hoo! My library has this on Hoopla and I haven't used any of my Hoopla borrows this month, so count me in.

Count me in!

welcome and than you Jonathan.

I LOVED the book, but will be hanging around for the discussion!!

Hi everyone! I read the book last month and loved it! Just wanted to pop in and join for discussions if that’s ok.🙂 I’m currently working my way through all of Jonathan’s books. He’s an awesome writer and person!

I just finished this one. I'm ahead of the curve for a change. 🙂 Great novel!

Ordering the hardback now.

Jonathan wrote: "Jon Recluse wrote: "Jonathan, I can imagine.

One more question: does the book reflect how you feel writers are treated by the Powers That Be of the publishing world, through your own experience as..."

Even just from a blogger's POV, I've seen and heard of this so much, and it's really tragic! I remember one recent debut author telling me that writing her second book was 10x more terrifying than her debut, because the debut had been under years of constant editing while she looked for a deal — the sophomore novel, not so much. I have no idea if her experience was exceedingly common, but it made sense in a sad way. :(

destiny ♡⚔♡ wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Jon Recluse wrote: "Jonathan, I can imagine.

One more question: does the book reflect how you feel writers are treated by the Powers That Be of the publishing world, through your ..."

Well said, Destiny.

Jonathan wrote: "Elke wrote: "Me too!

Welcome (back again) Jonathan!
Wondering which writers you may have had in mind writing that book...and would you be host or guest?"

Great question! Here are just a few...

R..."

Jonathan, your taste in books is amazing! Good inspiration definitely makes for a good book.

Woot! My library has this and I'm first in line!
I'll be joining in as soon as I get the book.

I've been wanting to read one of your books for awhile Jonathan.
And welcome!

I don't think I've missed a Janz group read yet, so even though I've been really bad about getting on HA lately (and GR in general) for a variety of reason, I'm in for this one! :-)

Always great to have you back, Jonathan!

Jen/The Tolkien Gal/ジェニファー wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Elke wrote: "Me too!

Welcome (back again) Jonathan!
Wondering which writers you may have had in mind writing that book...and would you be host or guest?"

Great question! Here are..."

Hey, thank you! :-)

Ginger wrote: "Woot! My library has this and I'm first in line!
I'll be joining in as soon as I get the book.

I've been wanting to read one of your books for awhile Jonathan.
And welcome!"

I really appreciate that, Ginger. I hope you dig it. :-)

Robert wrote: "I don't think I've missed a Janz group read yet, so even though I've been really bad about getting on HA lately (and GR in general) for a variety of reason, I'm in for this one! :-)

Always great t..."

Yay! I love interacting with you, Robert, so it's awesome to see you here.

The first thing I'll say about THE DARK GAME (and I'll try to give little insights and Easter eggs all month long) is that the version you all have is much, much shorter than the first draft. This book is around 95,000 words, I think.

I'm not sure exactly, but if you put all the parts together that I wrote for this book, it would be close to 180,000. That's a lot of cutting.

That’s almost half the book cut

Jonathan wrote: "The first thing I'll say about THE DARK GAME (and I'll try to give little insights and Easter eggs all month long) is that the version you all have is much, much shorter than the first draft. This ..."

Considering the few reviews I've seen that wanted more information on certain aspects, I think I--personally--would have loved even more content!!

I read this book about five weeks ago and loved it! So many characters and their stories was what made the story for me. Quirky, strange and plain weird make the best stories and this had it all.

The last book I read by Mr. Janz was The Siren and the Specter and I loved it also.

Sonya wrote: "That’s almost half the book cut"

It is indeed. It was a long, arduous process, and many of those cuts were painful.

Kimberly wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "The first thing I'll say about THE DARK GAME (and I'll try to give little insights and Easter eggs all month long) is that the version you all have is much, much shorter than the f..."

Me too. One day I hope to release a longer version. I mean, I don't think the longer one will be SUPERIOR to this one, but I do think it will be different and therefore interesting to many readers.

Teresa wrote: "I read this book about five weeks ago and loved it! So many characters and their stories was what made the story for me. Quirky, strange and plain weird make the best stories and this had it all.
..."

Thank you so much, Teresa!

About the deleted material (and I'll likely be alluding to this several times over the course of the month)...

The finished novel, the one you all have read or are reading, contains, I think, five excerpts of the writers' stories. The original version contained excerpts from all ten of the writers' tales AND, I believe, bits from Corrina Bowen and Roderick Wells.

Finished this the other night. Definitely reminded me of Starub's Shadowland a lot, plus a bit of Michael Slade's Ripper. I also liked the shout out to Scares that Care. My one issue with the book is the inconsistency in the chapters that demonstrated one of the writers' thoughts or writing. They were so different, they kinda made the story uneven. But then again, the fact that they were different for each character was better than when some authors have every character speak the same way, with the same manerisms, so they don't really feel like different characters.

Jonathan wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "The first thing I'll say about THE DARK GAME (and I'll try to give little insights and Easter eggs all month long) is that the version you all have is much, much s..."

I was just about to ask if you'd ever consider releasing an "expanded" version, so I hope you do!

Jonathan wrote: "About the deleted material (and I'll likely be alluding to this several times over the course of the month)...

The finished novel, the one you all have read or are reading, contains, I think, five..."

I would have LOVED the parts from Corrina and Roderick's novels!!

Jonathan wrote: "About the deleted material (and I'll likely be alluding to this several times over the course of the month)...

The finished novel, the one you all have read or are reading, contains, I think, five..."

Wow! I can see how all the points of view of all the authors would be interesting. Too bad that got cut!
I just started tonight and I’ve got to say I’m already hooked. I’m already liking some authors and others I want to see drop dead. Bravo! 😉🤣

I just finished Part One, and still have to sort out the different characters. So far, I don't like any of them, so I rather stick to guessing who might be 'next' with no real preference on any, if at all, survivors...

Currently, I wonder if the cop was created by imagination, which would open some interesting possibilities. That would also concur with the demon visions and lead down a very dark trail. But as I said, I still need to get a feeling for how things work here.

Lately, I started listening to books via VoiceOver when I can't sit down to read. I found that I have to concentrate much harder while listening to this book because it is so densely packed with details and information, no empty phrases and unncessary fillings, each word carefully chosen. This requires slower and more careful reading (sometimes even re-reading) on my side, but it's totally worth it.

I already noticed this while reading 'Exorcist Falls' and 'The Siren and the Specter' and I dare say while this is only the third book from Jonathan I'm reading, I already recognize a unique voice and exceptional writing style.

Jonathan wrote: "About the deleted material (and I'll likely be alluding to this several times over the course of the month)...

The finished novel, the one you all have read or are reading, contains, I think, five..."

I could also imagine (hope for ;) the ten+ stories put into an anthology.

Alan wrote: "Finished this the other night. Definitely reminded me of Starub's Shadowland a lot, plus a bit of Michael Slade's Ripper. I also liked the shout out to Scares that Care. My one issue with the book ..."

Yeah, as you alluded to above, I take it as a compliment that the writers' voices we're distinct. I totally get the uneven thing and appreciate what you're saying.

I love SHADOWLAND but haven't read Slade's RIPPER. That sounds like something I'd dig. :-)

destiny ♡⚔♡ wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "The first thing I'll say about THE DARK GAME (and I'll try to give little insights and Easter eggs all month long) is that the version you all hav..."

I think that would be a blast. :-)

Kimberly wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "About the deleted material (and I'll likely be alluding to this several times over the course of the month)...

The finished novel, the one you all have read or are reading, contai..."

Thanks, Kimberly. The original opening...well, I'll talk about that in a minute.

Ginger wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "About the deleted material (and I'll likely be alluding to this several times over the course of the month)...

The finished novel, the one you all have read or are reading, contai..."

Yay! Thank you, Ginger!

Elke wrote: "I just finished Part One, and still have to sort out the different characters. So far, I don't like any of them, so I rather stick to guessing who might be 'next' with no real preference on any, if..."

That is so kind of you! I really appreciate your saying that (about the writing style). :-)

Elke wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "About the deleted material (and I'll likely be alluding to this several times over the course of the month)...

The finished novel, the one you all have read or are reading, contai..."

Now there's a fantastic idea I've never even considered. That could be a cool companion piece to THE DARK GAME. :-)