Elford Alley

June 16th marks the 10th anniversary of In Search of the Nobility, TX Wildman‘s publication! It’s been a long, strange road for this one. Not quite horror, the novella is more of a literary comedy about failure and existential terror. Maverick Casey’s search for Bigfoot can be a metaphor for every goal you’ve put everything into, but still come up short. This started as a short film script. Later, when staying at a playwriting retreat in Virginia, I made it into a full-length play. Called In Search of the Amherst County Wildman, it managed a couple of readings (one of which is currently still on YouTube somewhere). 2016 I made it into a novel.

I think it works great as a novel, and might be the best thing I’ve written. While it’s not a horror, it’s about the thing that scares me most: failure.  Funny story, I was pursing representation and traditional publication with it, when I read about a movie being made with a similar plot and a stacked cast. I panicked, assuming this would be popular and I would always be  accused of ripping it off. I self-published the novel, starting my journey with prose that continued with Apartment 239, my short story collections and kids books, and my weird fiction novellas. The movie? Dropped unceremoniously on Hallmark years later after a dramatic re-edit. Apparently, nothing to write home about.

More Wildman lives on! This is a new edit, new cover, and for the next five days, it’s free on Amazon. Enjoy!

My third kids book with Cemetery Gates Media is out now! Here’s the description:

“It’s summer break! Hazel and Benny are going on vacation to a cabin in the middle of the woods. A place with tales of Sasquatch, creepy-crawlies, and there’s even a haunted lake. But Hazel must hold off on her cryptid hunt to help her younger cousin, Amelia, tell the ultimate scary story at the next campfire. Join Hazel, Amelia, Benny, and one very unexpected guest as they shiver ‘round the campfire!”

You can grab a copy in ebook and paperback here.

The story features the return of Pet Spider, The Thing, the creepy critters of Desert Creek, and the Circling Bird. Aunt Loretta from A Haunted Holiday also makes a brief cameo. I think the whole family will enjoy this one!

 

Wildcat Thicket is out now in ebook and paperback! Get it here!

Here’s some praise and a blurb. Thanks again to Adam and Laura for taking a chance on this weird novella, and Laura for making such an awesome cover.

CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN, AUTHOR OF WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES:

“Wildcat Thicket calls back to Joe R. Lansdale’s best, characters scraping bone and sinew just to get by. This pre-historic Texas, cosmic cryptid creepfest is an absolute blast, that’ll have you seeing heatwaves scintillating straight off the page.”

From the author of Never Leaving, Apartment 239, and A Haunted Holiday, comes a blood-spattered journey of survival.

In the dying Texas town of Lagoe, Ry and Erin are just trying to survive. Trapped in a crumbling trailer, dogged by debt, and surrounded by ghosts of a better future. When their reclusive landlord vanishes deep within the woods of Wildcat Thicket, and something starts creeping towards their home at night, knocking, whistling, mocking; they realise their worst fears aren’t late bills or speeding fines.

Something is out there waiting for them, something pre-historic, mimicking, hungry.

Lock your doors. Trust the dog. Don’t answer the voices.

STEVE STRED, AUTHOR OF MASTODON AND CHURN THE SOIL:

“A rollicking, suspenseful novella with a very unique take on Bigfoot, Eflord delivers a story with heart, humour, and plenty of page-turning action.”

COY HALL, AUTHOR OF THE OWL MEN OF SHANIDAR:

“Wildcat Thicket is the home of a mysterious doorway through time, a monstrous cat, and a horde of bipedal apes. And yet, it’s still less scary than the surrounding world of AR-15 giveaways and overdue rent. Another darkly funny journey into the mind of Elford Alley.”

IVY GRIMES, AUTHOR OF THE GHOSTS OF BLAUBART MANSION:

“With wry observations and thrilling plot twists, Wildcat Thicket tells a marvelously relevant story about Ry and Erin; a couple trying to survive in a dying Texas town inhabited by mysterious creatures. Elford Alley weaves us an exciting story filled with the horrors of time-travelling beasts and late-stage capitalism.”

PATRICK TUMBLETY, AUTHOR OF THE OCTOBER CHILDREN:

“A creature feature with horror, humour, and heart. Elford has crafted a tall tale that still manages to be both relevant and timeless.”

Hey, so I used to have my books far and wide through Draft2Digital and Barnes and Noble Press. But Draft2Digital decided to add annual fees (fuck that) and Barnes and Noble decided to set a minimum price for paperbacks, which was higher than the price I wanted to set (fuck that).  So, I dropped both. But! In looking at the sales reports, I sold maybe two books through B&N, and all my Draft2Digital sales were through Kobo and Overdrive/Libby. So, I cut out the middleman!

Here’s a Kobo/Overdrive/Libby link for my Desert Creek Publishing books, Apartment 239, High Strangeness, Mad Days, and In Search of the Nobility, TX Wildman: CLICK HERE!

For now, I think this removes some of my books from Bookshop in ebook format. I will rectify this one day soon! Until then, you can find these four on Bookshop still, along with Never Leaving and Wildcat Thicket, in paperback form.

It’s truly a cryptid spring people! Cemetery Gates Media is releasing my third kids book, A Spooky Summer! In this one, Hazel meets a cousin during a summer vacation, and together they investigate a local ghost story and search for cryptids. There will be appearances by Pet Spider, The Thing, and even the Circling Bird! Also, a fun return to Desert Creek. It’s out in May, perfect for kids of all ages!

My next horror novella Wildcat Thicket drops April 24th! It’s about Ry and Erin, a couple struggling to make it and living in a travel trailer in rural Texas. When their landlord disappears, they find themselves at the center of a struggle with mysterious creatures and a potential gateway to another time. Fun fact: Wildcat Thicket is the original name of my hometown. Why they changed it to Trenton I will never know, Wildcat Thicket is much cooler!

Adam and Laura at Infested Publishing are amazing, and they have put so much care into bringing this book to life. Laura Cathcart designed the cover and it’s stunning! Plus, how about that Clay McLeod Chapman blurb? Pretty nice!

Also, the rash of Bigfoot sightings in Ohio this week makes this the perfect cover reveal time!

Speaking of Bigfoot, June 16th marks 10 years since my first book, In Search of the Nobility, TX Wildman, another foray into rural Texas and Bigfoot. Bookending a decade in the book business with sasquatch, seems only right. To mark this occasion, I’ll drop an anniversary edition with a new cover and foreword! I know the website hasn’t seen an update in months, but writing is all about the hurry up and wait. Hell, in the time since I last updated I got and lost a TV deal, and had a book dropped by a publisher! Wild!