February 2013

Dark Valentines now available on Amazon in print & for Kindle

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Always fresh and original, Mark Onspaugh, author of the popular new "Christmas Ghost Stories," brings us another thematically organized collection in his new book "Dark Valentines." Unexpected twists on the classic themes of love, loss, passion and horror are included in this bouquet of old and new offerings from Onspaugh's fertile imagination.

Among the previously published stories are "The Broken Hand Mirror of Venus," nominated for a prestigious Pushcart Prize, "A Sweet Girl for Todd" a lonelyhearts tale that exposes the dark side of the tanning industry, and the hauntingly heartbreaking "Song of Absent Birds," which explores the true meaning of love in the post-apocalypse.

New stories include the sweepingly timeless romance of "Let My Love Carry Me Home," a few comedic turns such as "Cupid Versus Dracula" and three new Red Lion fairy tales which readers of Christmas Ghost Stories have loved so much.

Whether intended as a treat for your nearest and dearest or just a delicious indulgence of your own, the thirteen tales of "Dark Valentines" offer a sumptuous feast for readers of new adult fiction.

NOVEMBER 2012:

Christmas Ghost Stories - a collection of winter tales

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No Christmas stocking will be complete without the "scary ghost stories and tales of the glories Of Christmases long, long ago" promised by this tantalizing collection of dark, fantastical and romantic "winter tales" from the pen of writer Mark Onspaugh.

Sometimes funny, sometimes scary and occasionally bittersweet, this collection of Christmas ghost stories is perfect fare for sharing aloud by the fire or cuddling with someone (or something!) toasty on a moonless December night.

Featuring well over a dozen stories which can be read alone or sewn together, Onspaugh's original Christmas Ghost Stories entertain with supernatural flights of fancy, mysterious creatures and four interwoven fairy tales from the shadowy Black Forest.

Nominated for a prestigious Pushcart Prize, writer Onspaugh is delighted to have been compared to his favorite authors Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. He has several new collections of short stories and a novel Kushtaka coming soon.

Advanced praise for Christmas Ghost Stories:

"Mark Onpaugh's sixteen ghostly Christmas tales make the ideal read for filling cozy winter evenings with delectable shivers and chills.  So pour your eggnog and settle in by the fire for a jolly haunted night!"
                                               
Janet Fitch, author, White Oleander and Paint It Black


"How do you know you’re reading a Mark Onspaugh short story? I’ll tell you. You’ll laugh. Your skin will chill and crawl. You’ll find yourself marveling that a writer can do so much so very well, all the while moving with a screenwriter’s sense of pace and economy of words.  But most importantly, you’ll find yourself by turns surprised by love, warmed by the comforts of family, terrified by madness, and struck numb by sudden agony. Comparisons to Ray Bradbury will be, I think, inevitable…and far from out of place. Onspaugh is a gift to all lovers of the weird, and this book, a perfect sampling of his extensive range. Spend an evening this winter season with this collection and I know you’ll thrill to it just as I did."

Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Flesh Eaters and Inheritance


"Reading this book is like finding blood at the bottom of your glass of egg nog. You start off with something tasty and familiar and then everything goes to hell! Mark Onspaugh has taken all that is good and holy about Christmas and turned it into something terrifying -- the way it should be!"

JW Schnarr, award-winning journalist and author, Alice & Dorothy


"Whether you've been naughty or nice, these stories are a welcome holiday gift. Like snowflakes, they are uniquely individual adding up to a storm of pleasure that should jingle your bells!

Harvey Jacobs, author, Side Effects and American Goliath


"With Christmas Ghost Stories,  Mark Onspaugh gives us stories full of longing, regret, and fear to while away those winter nights. There's even the occasional dash of whimsy, and the sudden hammer strike of horror waiting for when you least expect it. Onspaugh's collection runs the gamut of human emotions and will keep you enthralled until the last page is turned."

L.L. Soares, author of Life Rage and Rock 'N' Roll

BUY NOW AT AMAZON


2011: Onspaugh nominated for a Pushcart Prize        

Mark's story "The Broken Hand Mirror of Venus" from War of the Worlds: Frontlines (ed. by JW Schnarr) has been nominated for a prestigious Pushcart Prize which bestows honors on America's best small presses.  Read more   (This story is now included in the collection Dark Valentines!)

NEW: Read an excellent Q&A with Mark from One Buck Horror, publishers of his
poignant story "A Lullaby for Caliban", which they compare to Bradbury and King.

NEW:  Voice artist Ian McMillan reads Mark's story "Welcome to the Federation"
free download

Mark writes on Facebook, "My story 'A Sweet Girl for Todd' appears in Blood Lite 2: Overbite, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. It's a collection of humorous horror from some really talented people... and me! Look for it wherever actual books are (still) sold!"

Mark is also in the original Blood Lite - and he will soon be in the next Blood Lite III - a rare triple hitter for this popular series produced by the Horror Writers Association!  see his author page at Amazon for more of his books & stories

Watch the the official trailer for the Onspaugh penned film "Kill Katie Malone" ~ now represented by American World Pictures. 

It showed to good insider buzz at the DGA and the European Film Market at the Berlinale in 2010.

See this link for pics & comments with director Carlos Ramos Jr. in Fangoria

fun wrap party pix

In the screenplay category, Mark has recently completed a re-write of his project "Sitting With The Dead" for producer Susie Landau Finch and director Roy Finch ("Wake"). 

Mark's family friendly script "My Summer As A Superhero" is under option with Greg Feldman of Etosha Films, and he continues to work on several new projects while seeking representation.

In the fiction category, Mark is thrilled to announce his new collection - Christmas Ghost Stories. This will be shortly followed up by two more collections, one science fiction and the other horror, to be released the winter of 2012-2013.  His novel Kushtaka will be released early 2013.  And spring time will see another themed collection of new stories - this time revolving around love & romance.  Stay tuned for Valentine's Day tales from Onspaugh featuring vampires and other creatures of the night!

In 2011, he was honored to have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for his work with Northern Frights.  In the past three plus years, Mark has sold more than four dozen short stories and an academic essay on slasher films.  Some of those stories are being re-packaged now in collections of his work.

Finally, he is collaborating with Joe McKinney on a horror anthology, The Forsaken, for 23 HOuse.  It will be somewhat similar to Joe's current zombie anthology Dead Set for which Joe is the co-editor and in which Mark also has a story.  See a short promo below....