J.T. CUMMINS

A Jitters?

J.T. — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:32:03 +0000

Thanks for the mention

J.T. — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:53:16 +0000

Nice article with thriller author Scott Nicholson over at fellow author Daniel Pyle’s site.

DP: Can you suggest any underappreciated indie writers we all ought to be reading?

SN: I don’t know as many “pure indies,” since most have some level of professional experience, but I think Debbi Mack, J.T. Cummins, David McAfee, David H. Burton, Simon Wood, W.D. Gagliani, Vicki Tyley, and more are deserving of wide audiences. It’s hard to believe the talented work that was unable to secure New York deals, and also makes you realize why New York’s model was failing to meet the needs of readers.

Thanks for the mention Scott!

New “Weaker Sex” cover

J.T. — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 23:18:55 +0000

Here’s the new cover art for the mystery/thriller Weaker Sex. Click on the image to embiggen.

Comments?

Unusual Places

J.T. — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:13:57 +0000

My old FX work seems to show up in the most unusual places. Here author Andrew Tudor uses my creation Big Ben from the motion picture House (1985) on the cover of his tome Monsters and Mad Scientists that supposedly “provides a systematic history of the horror movie genre, discussing individual movies in detail, while also drawing out the more general patterns in the development of the genre. It is based on an analysis of almost 1000 films.”

Since I haven’t read this book, I do not know if House was actually referenced in its pages or not. Though I don’t know what a zombie soldier has to do with “Mad Scientists,” it’ still cool to see Big Ben peering out from a book jacket.

Thanks to my buddy Scott Shortall for pointing this out.

New “Kindle Author” interview

J.T. — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:23:50 +0000

There’s nice Kindle-centric interview with me over at fellow author David Wisehart’s site.

Before you leave his site, make sure you check out the other author interviews in the sidebar archive. Great stuff. Thanks Dave!

My interview is posted at: http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2010/07/interview-jt-cummins.html

A rare “The Thing” pic

J.T. — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:07:31 +0000

Make-up designer Rob Bottin kept fanatical control of the pictures taken during the creation of the effects for John Carpenter’s The Thing, so even to this day it’s rare to see behind the scenes pictures like the one posted here (click here to enlarge picture).

Judging by the shape of the photo it’s a Polaroid taken during painting to check color tones. While this creation may look soft and fleshy, it is actually made of rigid fiberglass.

Sculptors who contributed to the creation of this piece: Rob Bottin, myself, Brian Wade, Willy Whitten, Vincent Prentice. Paint: Margaret Besserra (now Prentice).

Blasts from the past

J.T. — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:53:47 +0000

I’m still working on the “Press” page of this site, but until construction is complete, I thought it would be fun to put up a few surviving pics of old magazine covers that featured interviews with me or images.

Of course these interviews were done during my FX heyday, and many of these magazines are no longer around, but it’s still fun to time trip — even if I can’t read some of the articles. For instance; the French magazine “Cinefantastique’s Mad Movies” at left, which features a great cover image of one of my creations from “House.” Sacre bleu!

Interview in Suspense Magazine

J.T. — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:41:44 +0000

The online July edition of Suspense Magazine has a piece about me and fellow indie authors Debbi Mack, John O’ Dowd, Victorine Lieske, David McAffee, C.J. West and Lisa C. Hinsley. It’s all about life in the indie trenches and it appears in Scott Nicholson’s new monthly column, “Survivor Types.”

With the seismic shifts in the publishing industry — spawned largely by the digital revolution — more authors are taking their cases straight to the court of public opinion. Welcome to Survivor Types, a monthly column introducing independent authors in the fields of suspense, thrillers, horror and mystery. These authors publish and market through their own efforts, build their own audiences and follow their unique visions. They come from many avenues — some through the back door, others rising blinking from the basement and a few staggering in after a shootout on Main Street. The one thing they have in common is their desire to share their stories. Meet them in Suspense Magazine.

Quote

J.T. — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:23:49 +0000

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.

— Ayn Rand

J.T. story in Grave Conditions!

J.T. — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:40:37 +0000

Yay! Issue #2 of Grave Conditions is finally here! The issue features my story “Monsterthon” with art by Earl Geier.

Grave Conditions also contains the chilling work of Jonathan Maberry, Lavie Tidhar, Damjan Stanich, Andre Siregar, Kevin Thomas, Aric Mitchell, Daniel Chan, Michael David Thomas. 32 pages, B & W interior, digital PDF file only 99 cents! Download it now at Haunted Computer Comics.

Coming soon the print trade paperback version of Grave Conditions which collects all three digital issues (including # 2 above), plus a bonus 12-page story by Jack Kilborn/J.A. Konrath and Frankie B. Washington. B & W interior. Release TBA. Pre-order now! $9.95 plus $3 shipping at Haunted Computer Comics.

Can’t wait for Halloween?

J.T. — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:02:20 +0000

I couldn’t wait for Halloween, so here’s something to tide over all you trick r’ treaters.

In my new, short, horror/fantasy e-novel (15,298 words approx.), Winstrom, evil forces marshal Halloween witches, ghosts, black cats, and assassin jack o’ lanterns in a quest to locate a destructive supernatural talisman entrusted to the unknowing, adult grandson of a powerful backwoods witch.

Winstrom takes approximately two hours to read, and is available as an e-download from Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, or Smashwords for $1.99.