Halloween is creeping up early on The Poisoned Pen. This weekend, the indie book store in Scottsdale will host a costume party featuring five well-known horror, sci-fi, and fantasy authors, and plans to roll out the smoke machine and hand out prizes for the best costumes.
Even if you're not familiar with the names of the authors who'll be joining the party -- James A. Owen, Sam Sykes, Larry Correia, Weston Ochse, and SS Wilson -- you've probably heard of their books.
James A. Owen is the author of the Starchild series, and is also well-known for penning Here, There Be Dragons. He currently lives in Taylor, Arizona, making him a local fantasy literature hero. His latest book, The Dragon's Apprentice, was released this past Tuesday.
Sam Sykes' first book, the fantasy novel Tome of the Undergates, has been receiving accolades from everywhere from Sacramento Book Review ("The underlying depraved sense of humor is undeniable") to James A. Owen, who called Sykes "the Hot Young Turk of Fantastic Fiction."
Larry Correia (Monster Hunter International) is enjoying new found success as a horror fiction writer, which isn't as loud as his former profession (firearms instructor), but way more entertaining. His Monster Hunter series chronicles the adventures of a group of people out to save the world from things that go bump in the night -- if they can save themselves first.
Horror writer Weston Ochse, a Wyoming transplant currently living in Southern Arizona, received the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel for his 2005 book Scarecrow Gods, and has ridden that momentum through five other novels, including Blaze of Glory, and his latest terror tome, Empire of Salt.
But the headliner at The Poisoned Pen event is SS Wilson, best known for writing the film Short Circuit and tons of Tremors stuff (for film and television). He'll be signing his debut novel, Tucker's Monster.
Given all the spooky stories that'll be crammed into the place, The Poisoned Pen makes a pretty good case for celebrating Halloween a week early.
The Poisoned Pen Halloween Bash takes place at 2 p.m., Sunday, October 24, at The Poisoned Pen, 4014 N. Goldwater Boulevard, #101, in Scottsdale. Signings require book purchases from The Poisoned Pen. Call 480-947-2974 or visit www.poisonedpen.com for more information.
