12 things you wish you didn't know about me

Welcome Coffin Hoppers.  As I bring this musty list back to life and think about 2013.  There have been changes, some positive, some not so much.  Odd that this is becoming my annual . . .

There is a favorite quote of mine from Richard Bach, "Remember where you came from, where you're going, and why you created the mess you got yourself into in the first place."  I like to revisit this blog post from time to time to introduce myself to new people.  If something here interests you, check out the blog.  I might have talked about it more.

1. I am an ordained minister . . . the internet can be an evil thing, and I have performed eight marriages and no funerals.
2. I’ve seen the gateway to Hell (Stull, KS) and been to Hell (somewhere off Grand Cayman Islands)
3. I’ve been alone with a serial killer in my house . . . seriously
4. I’m not really afraid of much (not after #3).
5. I love bad corny jokes and used to tell them for hours.
6. I went to school midlife for something I absolutely love, graduated, and now can’t find a job in it. now I have a great job in it.
7.  I have about 6 ½ hours of tattoos on my back from two sessions.  1^st 1.5 hours, 2^nd 5 hours.
8.  I’ll drop just about anything I’m doing to go watch a storm.  I think it’s a passion and a sickness.  www.ruminationofthunder.com  I've been published by the National Weather Service, NASA, Discovery News, and Yahoo UK.
9. On the same month I had my book was originally published, I found a gallery that wanted to show my photography, the show went on for two months.
10. I worked in the Ethanol fuel industry and miss it horribly.  I miss being a chemist and playing in the lab.
11. Two things in my book happened to me in real life.
12. There is a pun that travels through the book that has to be explained to most people.

Hell to Pay is back in E-book form.  Coming soon in paperback.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G7579KQ

Read the prequel for free on Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118371

 The life of a biker gang leader is brief with moments of horror, death, and struggle. Why should Mercy Tyler's be any different?

Hell to Pay

A man who thinks he's losing his soul, meets a man who has.

Detective Michael Bailey is a seasoned homicide detective who can't escape the deaths of twin girls that happened on his watch. Over the years, it slashed at his sanity and sobriety, and now he stands at the crossroads of his life. The murder investigation of a young woman sends him over the edge. 

George Graham is an antique store owner who has fallen for the wrong woman. When rejected and berated in public, George runs home to find a strange old man with an antique box wanting to make a deal. George buys the box and inside finds a matted scalp, a relic of untold power. 

Hell to Pay has been rereleased on Amazon today:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G7579KQ

The books prequel, The Ballad of Mercy Tyler is available at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118371 

Interested in reviewing either The Ballad of Mercy Tyler, Hell to Pay, or gasp . . . both?  Leave a message, I may surprise you.

Walking the Roads Alone at Night

I know you can hear it.  The scraping of feet behind you.  You're already walking on what you thought was a lone county road after a freak thunderstorm rolled through.  You hear your own feet sink into the sand, but there is something else . . . an echo.  You look behind you in the dark and see nothing.  Until a flash of lightning shows the road.  Nothing is behind you but footprints . . . hundreds of them.

Come join us and let us adore you.

It's Time

As the fabric between the worlds begins to weaken, and the dead walk among us once more, it is time for us to celebrate the end of the old year. To the beginnings of the new, and to honor the dead.

Welcome to Coffin Hop 2013.

Whisper your name on a tombstone, if you dare:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Come join the Haunt:

1. A Diamond In The Dark	2. A. F. Stewart
3. Adventures in SciFi Publishing w/Ronald Malfi	4. Angela Scott Author
5. Angelic Knight Press	6. As the Crowe Flies
7. Ash Krafton’s Demimonde	8. Author Jaime Johnesee
9. Author Jolea M. Harrison	10. Axel Howerton
11. Becki’s Book Blog	12. Blaze McRob’s Tales Of Horror
13. Cait’s Place	14. Catherine Wolffe – Wolfen Secrets
15. Chris Verstraete @ GirlZombieAuthors	16. Coffin Hop
17. Dark Heart & Night Shade	18. Dark Moon Digest
19. Days with the Undead	20. Epitaphs and Headstones
21. Eric Garrison	22. Escoe Allen
23. Fangs & Halos-Charlayne Elizabeth Denney	24. Greg James
25. Jean Booth – Zombie War	26. Jeff Chapman
27. Jessica McHugh	28. Joanna Parypinski
29. John Everson: Dark Arts	30. Joseph Pinto’s Horror (& not so horrible) Blog
31. Katie M. John	32. Kim Koning | I See Ghosts | Wrestling The Muse
33. Land of the Brewin	34. Lori Michelle
35. Melissa A. Smith	36. Michael Montoure’s
37. Michelle Muto	38. Musings & Little Obsessions (INT)
39. Our Darkest Fears	40. Paul Stansfield
41. Precious Monsters	42. Red Tash
43. Scattershot Writing	44. Sirens Call Publications
45. Skye Callahan	46. Spreading the Writer’s Word
47. Strandville Zombie Series (B. Frisch)	48. Swamp Full Of Lies
49. Tell Me a Story, Ghost	50. The Cerebral Writer
51. The Dark Angel – Sotet Angyal	52. The Dark Fiction of Kenneth W. Cain
53. The Endless Chase	54. The Evermore Chronicles
55. The FlipSide of Julianne	56. The Manicheans by Johanna K. Pitcairn
57. The Nickronomicon	58. The Road to Nowhere. . .
59. The Storyteller	60. The Vampire from Hell by Ally Thomas
61. Thea Gregory’s Zombie Bedtime Stories	62. What Really Scares Me
63. Whispers From The Abyss	64. Writing with Scissors

Finally, check out Death at the Drive-In benefiting  LitWorld.org, an organization supporting child literacy and social improvement the world over.  Find it here:  www.coffinhop.com

I'm a Horror writer!



Don't forget the outtakes!

Welcome to the Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Sorry Douglas Adams, but it felt appropriate.

Changes are afoot. My novel, Hell to Pay is currently unavailable due to the publisher ceasing operations.  From these ashes it will arise again.  I am currently in talks about doing an audio version (either reader theater or from me) and working on a rerelease of the novel in e-book (series) form and back into paper as well.  Hang with me, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Lightning may strike twice in the town of Ashton.

For a beginning to the series, The Ballad of Mercy Tyler is available from Smashwords for free! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118371

Coffin Hop 2012

Greetings and welcome to the Coffin Hop 2012, traveler.

Set back in the peat moss, crack open a cold one, and set for a spell.  Close your eyes tightly and wait for the sound of silence to overwhelm you.  Then look to the left.  Just out of your field of vision you may see something rustling in the darkness, but do not fear.  Over 100+ horror writers are calling out, wanting the warmth of your flesh to draw nearer.  Come visit us and let us adore you.

 Only eight more days until the veil between the worlds opens up to let us all out.  For now, fall back in fevered dreams and listen to what we have in store.

Brian Johnson's Novel, Hell to Pay, is available from Hellfire Publishing here: http://tinyurl.com/4yzb32k

A short story for the price of free . . . The Ballad of Mercy Tyler.  

On a lone stretch of road, Mercy Tyler meets with the forces of nature. 

Revisionist History

Yes child. I carried you from the ruins of Wichita and we found a little plot of land unsieged by soot or salt. We named our little shelter Kechi, and it has been the safest place you will ever know.

What Am I Reading

What am I reading?  Everything.

Research - Conan A Witch Shall Be Born by Robert E. Howard.
Research - How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy - Orson Scott Card
Job - Common Core Standards
Job - The First Days of School - Wong & Wong
Relaxation - Freakonomics - Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Relaxation - Sandman Slim - Richard Kadrey
Relaxation - Freedom Writers Diary - By them and Erin Gruwell

I tend to read like I do everything else.  All over the place.  My office, den, living room, bathroom, bedroom all have books.  All have bookmarks resting in some places that I may have left ten minutes or ten months ago.  I am a voracious reader, but will give up on books that take me no where.  I don't read free books on Kindle, although I might if time stood still and nothing was going on.

My selves are a mix of classic, young adult, and adult books of almost every genre.  Sorry majority of romance, no romance books.  Tried writing it once, killed of both characters in the first chapter, true story.
I have a reading crush on Jim Butcher (Dresden Files, didn't get into the other series yet), R.A. Silvatore (Drizzt series-es there are a ton of books), complete sets of Poe, Shakespeare, Bukowski (still need a couple books).   I tend to have books on paranormal and things that go bump in the night.  People might find it odd that I have two bibles.  One given to me by a very close friend.  The other is the family bible that I inherited from my Grandfather that contains our family history.

I have some books going back into the late 1800's and some books in languages I can't read.

I like books.  The feel, the ability to know exactly how much is left, the smell of old pages, and the rustling noise it makes when you turn a page.  I like Kindle, but if I read a book that I loved on it, I'd go buy it in paper.

Oh yeah. I also have my book.
Hell to Pay.  You can get it in e-book or paper.  Seeing myself on a bookshelf makes me happy.

Hookers and Hangers Bloghop: The Hangers

I enjoyed the exercise presented  by Falling for Fiction on their "Hookers and Header" bloghop.  This is the second hop I've completed with them and appreciate them allowing a horror writer around.  Novelists should look at their chapter beginning/ending and separate their first and last lines to see what's pushing the audience to  go deeper.

I had good comments yesterday, so today, comment again and I'll do a second drawing for an e-book.  Thank you all for the experience and follow my mundane adventures here at Father Thunder and at www.ruminationofthunder.com.

Now for the hangers:

This isn't the last line but is in the final chapter:

Chapter 61:  After nearly drowning in the supernatural, the mind needs time to process and reprocess events and make up several lies to believe in.

Chapter 1: The big black dog, his hellhound, materialized from the shadows between the houses, and followed him right down the street.

Chapter 8: Within thirty minutes he had showered, climbed into bed, and dreamed of burning men and a howl that woke him up an hour before the alarm went off.

That's it for the contest, here are some more.

Chapter 2: Then something reached deep into George’s soul and strangled it.

Chapter 3: Bailey knew the omen, and recognized the rest of the day was going to suck.

Chapter 4: George stood his ground for a moment, then fainted away, letting something take over that had wanted out all day to play.  

Chapter 7: “God, help us all.”

Chapter 9: Long blinded eyes looked lost as he gave up the ghost.

Chapter 10: Nonetheless, it sent a chill down George’s spine and the feeling that this would not be the last death to visit him.

Chapter 12: A few days until the master of the world walked among the humans once again, and his servants were awaiting him.

Chapter 15: He knew his father was dead by the bloat and mottled appearance, but the groan sunk itself deep into George’s mind as a warning of his father’s return.

Chapter 17: With bourbon, he’d be ready for anything.

Chapter 19: A beacon of hellish red light erupted from downtown and provided the trail.

Chapter 24: Bailey recovered from the light, sound, and pressure to find the rain stopped, the sky clear, and his car very dead.

Chapter 26: It looked black in the moonlight as he raised it to the sky, muttered something as old as man, and took a taste of human heart.

Interested?  Check out "Hell to Pay" from Hellfire Publishing.  It is available in e-book and paperback.  Also please leave a comment below to be entered in the drawing, and join me on my quest by becoming a minion on Father Thunder.  This is only the beginning my flock, glories wait ahead.  I will announce winners soon.

Yeearrrg. I'm running behind. Buccaneer Blogfest

Forgive me for being the latest Pirate on the pyre.


I am Brian Johnson, a scallywag of mythic proportions, a writer of some of life's darker things, and a photog of daring beauty. You are welcome to peruse my pages on Father Thunder and www.ruminationofthunder.com  but beware, steal my wares, and find yourself bloodeagled.

In Father Thunder, you will find 12 things you really didn't need to know about me, An Interview with Micheal Bailey, my main character from "Hell to Pay"; and other assorted odds and ends.  My novel, Hell to Pay is available at Amazon from Hellfire Publications and a short chapter intro to Hell to Pay called the Ballad of Mercy Tyler from Smashwords.  Now enough links in the chains that will drag us to the crushing depths of Davy Jones locker.




















My current WIP is called Aristid.  This is the story of a supposed half-demon boy raised by a religious institution to become their ultimate weapon.  For my progress, check the WIP page above.










The Aristid Chronicles

Chapter 1

The church tower near the village of Elta sounded two low notes followed by an off key higher pitch.  The gale warning echoed among the hills as, village inhabitants rushed to grab children and scan the skyline.  The heavy air smelled of vegetation and rain, and its electricity caused hair to stand on end. 

Mayor Blanchfield hurried though the cobblestone streets near his office frantically looking for his daughter, Maggie, who had gone to play.  He spotted the small red-headed child not more than six summer’s old, playing near the fountains.

            “Maggie!” Mayor Blanchfield yelled as he ran uphill toward the village center.  Maggie stared at the storm frozen in fear and wonder.

He grabbed the child and ran to Shrinehall, an open but sheltered place of worship that overlooked the village.  The statue of the great god, Alfodr, pointed at the storm as sunlight disappeared from the village and thunder growled.   A cold wind pushed through as ominous boiling clouds stirred overheard.   

Mayor Blanchfield moved toward the alter as hail tinked off the copper roof.

“Daddy, is it the Wrath?” she cried. 

 “No child.  Be silent about the wrath here.  We are safe.”  Mayor Blanchfield said.  “It’s a story told to misbehaving children to silence them in church.”  He glanced at the statue hoping for a sign of approval. 

Einridi, please help us.

The bells continued their warning.  He stroked Maggie’s sweat stained hair from her face as a bolt of lightning hammered nearby.  Maggie’s fierce squeeze made his leg go numb, until her nails found home in his flesh.  They crouched near the statue as if divine intervention might save them. 

Hail cracked upon Shinehall’s roof making larger dents.  In the surrounding farmlands, horses screamed and stampeded, while livestock bellowed and died.   The alter looked down on it all and Mayor Blanchfield knew that the crops would be a total loss.    Shattered glass fell to the cobblestone roads as hailstones the size of fists fell from the sky, cracking wood and ravaging thatched roofs.   The mayor knew Maggie was screaming as she and covered her ears. The sound intensified drowning out anything else but destruction. 

The cloak of hail surrounded them.  Holes appeared in the roof’s massive dents and some hail made into Shinehall.  The noise deafened them as cold air flowed through the  Shrinhall. Suddenly as the destruction began, it stopped.  Heavy rain replaced the hail cutting visibility all around them.  Once again, the church sounded their warning.  Mayor Blanchfield gut clinched as he realized it was more than a warning but a plea to the gods for help.

Keep an eye on my WIP and hopefully we will watch it grow.

Hookers and Hangers Bloghop: The Hookers

Welcome to the Falling for Fiction "Hookers and Hangers" bloghop.

"Hell to Pay" was released from Hellfire Publishing last year and is available in e-book or paperback.

The hook:
A man who thinks he's losing his soul, meets a man who has.

Hookers (stop stocking up on antibiotics, these are the first lines from chapters):

Chapter 3: A single bolt of lightning struck somewhere near the center of town.

Chapter 4: Bailey moseyed into the office, dry, bandaged, and ready to get his ass chewed.

Chapter 7: Most of the Ashton police force was already assembled when Bailey and John entered the tactical room.

Chapter 8: About 4:00am Bailey fell asleep against a pole near the makeshift morgue.

Chapter 9: A man screamed in George’s dream, and it ended in a gurgle of blood.

Chapter 11:  Detective Bailey circled the Market Square almost twenty times that day, running between the antique store and the fire scene.

Chapter 12: George never opened the antique store the day Neeley died.

Chapter 18: The white flag flailed in the wind and burned into Detective Bailey’s uncontrolled rage.

Chapter 19: The heavens raged in a violent thunderstorm as Lars stumbled through the wet empty streets of Ashton screaming for his departed friend.

Chapter 23: George dreamed about angels coming in the night.

Chapter 24: The dwarf did the trick, Bailey felt more comfortable around Mills since the shared laugh.

Chapter 26: George’s vivid nightmares left him detached most of the day.

Just a taste of the book, there are 61 chapters.  If you like what you read, check out "Hell to Pay".  Leave some comments below and after the bloghop, I'll draw a winner for a free e-book.

Now hop my minions!!!

1.	Writing on the Wall	2.	Between the Bookends
3.	Tobi Summers - Chock Full of Words	4.	Unyielding
5.	Lisa Regan	6.	Cassie Mae
7.	Writing Off The Edge	8.	Cutest Landing
9.	Michael Abayomi	10.	Amanda Olivieri
11.	Darci Cole	12.	Jenny Morris
13.	Writing with Hope	14.	A.J. Locke
15.	Another Author	16.	Fanatic for Fiction
17.	Ink in the Book	18.	Suzi- Literary Engineer
19.	tara tyler	20.	Scattergun Scribblings
21.	used bikes in london - Second hand bikes london	22.	Queendsheena
23.	Emily R. King	24.	Mutterings from the Oubliette
25.	My Inner Fairy	26.	Scribble Babble
27.	the sands of writing	28.	Amy Sonnichsen
29.	Kim Karras	30.	And Then She Was Like Blah Blah Blah
31.	Leigh Covington	32.	J. A. Bennett - A Writer's Journey
33.	Thardrandian Thoughts	34.	Jade Hart
35.	Gina Denny	36.	Freya Morris
37.	Use Your Words...	38.	Sydney Aaliyah
39.	Whatever	40.	Tasha Seegmiller
41.	Clare Dugmore Writes	42.	C.M. Brown
43.	Ilima Todd	44.	Donna Hole
45.	The Art of Infiltration	46.	Write Here, Write Now
47.	Carrie-Anne's Magick Theatre	48.	T.L. Bodine
49.	Tara @ More Than Fiction	50.	Melissa Sugar
51.	Roxanne @ Books and Blossoms	52.	Medeia Sharif
53.	Tyson McFrost (Frost Lord)	54.	Michael Pierce
55.	T.F. Walsh	56.	Putting Pen To Paper
57.	VikLit	58.	Rantings of a Writer
59.	Stina Lindenblatt	60.	L.M. Miller
61.	EM Castellan	62.	The Intrinsic Writer
63.	Teardrops On My Book	64.	1000th.monkey
65.	Sue K.	66.	Lindz Pagel
67.	Flame Writer	68.	Beth's Blog
69.	Trisha @ WORD STUFF	70.	Cristina dos Santos
71.	Deana Barnhart	72.	Krista McLaughlin
73.	ali cross	74.	SC Write -- Writing, Publishing, and Harry Potter
75.	Entertaining Interests	76.	Martin at 'From Sand to Glass'
77.	For Science!	78.	Nancy S. Thompson
79.	Postcards From My Mind	80.	It's All in My Head
81.	Soul Destruction	82.	Theresa Paolo
83.	Lynn(e) @ The Submission Process	84.	Your Daily Dose
85.	Folio Road	86.	dreamwritepublish
87.	Word by Word	88.	Father Thunder

Hell to Pay now in paper

Hell to Pay is available now through Amazon in paper.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1468034022/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_.ES5ob19D13C8

Release the Kraken!!!

Damn You Nanowrimo!

I want to conquer Nano.  I really do.  This insane writer's journey that forces you to attempt 50,000 words of a novel in a solid month.  I've tried before with infants, sick parents, school, work issues, and this year, with majority of problems subsided, was going to strike out with a clear head.  The most I've done so far is a 20,000 word story still setting there.

It was more than All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play make Jacks a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Then I got my dream job.  I start tomorrow.  I couldn't be happier, but being the Introspective Type A personality I am, Nano is in the background whipping at my sanity.

I have a great story, freaking epic in scope, that's been in my mind for several years.  A dark fantasy novel about a child born half demon, taken by a church, and turned into their super weapon.  I have charts, plot, characters, magic systems, world building ready to go . . . but I got the call and I start tomorrow.

I started Nano today, did a little more than 1500 words, feel good about the project and now wonder what the final outcome will be.  I'm going to try, but there are some very important things for me to focus on . . . but isn't there always?  As writers aren't we supposed to overcome?

The Ballad of Mercy Tyler

"Chapter 0" in Hell to Pay.

Coming soon . . .

Survey

National Retail Federation reports 69% of Americans celebrate Halloween.

Goodreads

On http://www.goodreads.com?  I'm on Goodreads.com.  More important "Hell to Pay" is on Goodreads.com

Press release

http://www.prlog.org/11659812-storm-chaser-turned-author-has-hell-to-pay.html