Guest Blog by Duncan McGeary - Horror… Happily - May 27, 2015

Please welcome Duncan McGeary to The Qwillery. Tuskers II: Day of the Long Pig was published on May 25th by Angelic Knight Press, an imprint of Ragnarok Publications.

Horror… Happily.

Duncan McGeary

         I was surprised that when I came back to writing, I chose to write horror. Even more, that I continued to write horror. Happily.
         It seems to me that horror is an open genre. There are no required formulas to the horror, as least as far as I can tell. Anything can be turned into horror -- any subject, any setting, any format; any other genre or no genre at all. The only expectation is that it has something scary in it. The fright can be physical, psychological, or spiritual, or any combination thereof.
         To me, it's a very freeing genre to write in. I just need to dig down into my own malaise of concerns and sure enough, there is always a twinge to be explore, which can be turned into something frightening.
         So far, I've delved into historical events, trying my best to be authentic and accurate about what happened to the Donner Party, and using werewolves as both real and symbolic elements.
         I've written a vampire trilogy that asked whether redemption could be achieved by anyone. An exploration of the religious and the spiritual.
         I've written a story about hyper-intelligent wild pigs on the rampage called Tuskers, who represent nature's revenge against mankind's neglect and arrogance.
         I've just finished two stories, one that include elements of Noir, with a gangster Golem, and another that is a sexual thriller involving Succubae.
         I love fantasy and mysteries, but it seems to me that they are trapped by convention, if not formula. That to break from these conventions, the form has to be stretched so much that it bends and sometimes breaks -- or at the very least, calls attention to the effort. Whereas horror can be bent in any direction and it won't surprise the reader.
         There are, of course, sub-genres within horror where the reader has expectations of certain conventions, but I don't have to go there; and even if I break from expectations, it seems to me that the horror readers are more open to such twists.
         I have yet to have an idea for a story that I didn't think could be improved by exploring the horror elements of that story.
         Or maybe I'm just twisted. Happily.

Tuskers II: Day of the Long Pig
Wild Pig Apocalypse 2
Angelic Knight Press, May 25, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 258 pages

Barry and Jenny inherited a fortune, with a single stipulation: that they hunt down and eradicate the Tuskers. They can only hope the Tuskers are gone. They aren't sure they can follow through on the genocide of an entire new species.

Genghis, the smartest and most ruthless of the Tuskers, survives. Deep in the desert, he breeds with the wild pig population. These mutants learn from humans, and quickly surpass them.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : iTunes : Kobo : Ragnarok Publications

Previously

Tuskers
Wild Pig Apocalypse 1
Angelic Knight Press, January 12, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 238 pages

Barry had created a little piece of paradise in his southern Arizona backyard—until the javelinas came.

His battle to rid his property of the wild pigs soon escalated into war. Too late, he realized these weren't ordinary animals. They were something new, something meaner and smarter. These pigs weren't just at war with him; they were at war with the human race.

And the humans were losing.

Amazon : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : iTunes : Kobo : Ragnarok Publications

About Duncan

I've lived in Bend, OR, my whole life (which is becoming increasingly rare in this boom town.) After graduating from the U of O in the '80s, I wrote the fantasy novels Star Axe, Snowcastles and Icetowers. While trying to write full time, I started filling in at a local book/comic book store called Pegasus Books and eventually became manager—then 30 years ago, I bought the store from Mike Richardson, who is now the publisher of Dark Horse Comics.

In the last few years, Pegasus Books has become stable and I've returned to writing like crazy. I sold a four book deal to Books of the Dead Press, followed by another trilogy, "The Vampire Evolution," which consists of Death of An Immortal, Rule of Vampire, and Blood of Gold.

I've been very busy with several other books in the works, and I'm proud to have sold my Wild Pig Apocalypse, Tuskers, to Ragnarok via their Angelic Knight Press Imprint. I hope you guys will check out all my books, as I try to make them entertaining, fast reads.

Website ~  Twitter @PegasusBooks