JonathanMaberry profile picture

JonathanMaberry

Jonathan Maberry - Author, Writing Teacher, Editor

About Me


I’m a professional writer and writing teacher with thirty years in the biz. I’ve sold over 1000 articles, 17 nonfiction books, 3 novels, as well as short stories, poetry, song lyrics, video scripts, and two plays.

My first novel, GHOST ROAD BLUES (Pinnacle Books in June of 2006) is the first of a trilogy of supernatural thrillers set in Bucks County, PA. It won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. The second book in the series, DEAD MAN’S SONG, hit stores this past July and the series will wrap with BAD MOON RISING in May 2008 (though you can pre-order it from Amazon now!)
My latest nonfic book is THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange, and Downright Bizarre (Citadel Press, ISBN: 0806528192 ) , co-authored by David F. Kramer. We have a MySpace page for that: www.myspace.com/cryptopedia
. Also, check out VAMPIRE UNIVERSE: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Hunt Us, Haunt Us and Hunger For Us (Citadel Press; ISBN: 0806528133; $16.95), which discusses the myths, legends and folklore of vampires, werewolves, cryptids, and other monsters; available everywhere books are sold.
Next up is ZOMBIE CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead, which is scheduled for a September 2008 release.
And I’m currently writing PATIENT ZERO, a bio-terrorism novel for St. Martin’s Press, scheduled for early 2009. That’ll be the first of a series of action-adventures featuring ex-Baltimore cop Joe Ledger and the DMS: the Department of Military Sciences.
I own and/or co-own a couple of different writing-related businesses, including Career Doctor for Writers (www.careerdoctorforwriters.com), which provides workshops, classes and editorial services for writers of all genres. I do lectures and talks at libraries and independent bookstores, and am frequently invited in to speak to writing groups to talk about how to break into the publishing biz. The core of that business is a split between CAREER COUNSELING FOR WRITERS and MANUSCRIPT ANALYSIS.
The other writing business is THE WRITERS CORNER USA (4 West Oakland Avenue, Doylestown PA 18901), which I co-founded with Brian O’Connell and Joy Stocke. We run classes of all kinds, including my signature course, which is WRITE YOUR BOOK IN 9 MONTHS. Our website is www.writerscornerusa.com;MySpace www.myspace.com/writerscornerusa
I’m actively involved in the writing world and I’m a speaker for the National Writers Union, a writing mentor for the HWA (Horror Writers Association), an active member of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and the International Thriller Writers (ITW); and president of the NJ-PA Chapter of the Horror Writers Association. I also do workshops at conferences, including BackSpace, PennWriters, Sisters in Crime, Lunacon, PhilCon, Pocono Romance Writers, HorrorFind, Monster Mania, The Write Stuff, University of Pennsylvania, Inner Artist, etc.
.
Please visit my websites:
Jonathan Maberry
Ghost Road Blues
Writers Corner
Ghost Road Blues ReviewsI’ve been a martial artist for over 40 years and hold an 8th degree black belt in jujutsu. I taught Martial Arts History, Jujutsu, and Women’s Self Defense at Temple University for 14 years; some work for the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office as an Expert Witness for murder cases involving martial arts; and even worked for a while as a bodyguard in the Entertainment Industry (back in my checkered past!).
I’m currently the President and Chief Instructor of COP-Safe (www.copsafe.com), a company that conducts safety, defense, and risk management workshops for law enforcement officers. In 2003 I was inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame, partly due to my books ULTIMATE JUJUTSU and ULTIMATE SPARRING.
Please visit my websites:
Jonathan Maberry
Ghost Road Blues
Vampire Universe
Writers Corner
Ghost Road Blues Reviews ..
Subscribe to Jonathan_Maberry
Powered by groups.yahoo.com

My Interests

Film -classic, modern and outre.
Travel
The art of conversation.

I'd like to meet:

Read What Today’s Top Storytellers are Saying About Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry:

"Every so often, you discover an author whose writing is so lyrical that it transcends mere storytelling. Jonathan Maberry is just such an author, and his writing is powerful enough to sing with poetry while simultaneously scaring the hell out of you."

-- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of THE MEPHISTO CLUB

"Jonathan Maberry writes in the grand poetic horror tradition of Poe and Robert McCammon. His novel is not just a frightening tale, but one in which the reader can truly identify with both the honestly human and the dishonestly self absorbed and doomed characters. The language and descriptions are vivid, threatening and beautiful. Maberry belongs with the big names including King and Koontz."

-- Stuart Kaminsky Bestselling author; 2005 recipient of the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America, etc.

"Prepare to be scared. Maberry frightens, amuses, and makes you think, often on the same page. The horror is pervasive, but so is a deeply entrenched sense of fun. Move over Stephen King..."

-- JA Konrath, author of Dirty Martini.

"Maberry writes with a rare combination of precision, power and poetry, all with a masterful skill that will scare the bejibbers out of you! Finishing one of his books is a little like stepping off a roller coaster --you might be a bit wobbly, but you're eager to go again."

-- John Lutz Two-time Shamus Award-winner, author of 30 novels and 200 short stories. His SWF SEEKS SAME was the basis for the 1992 movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE starring Bridget Fonda.

"A fabulously written novel that grips you from its first line to its last. Jonathan Maberry's writing runs from dark and beautiful to sharp and thought-provoking, and his books should be on everyone's Must-Read list."

-- Yvonne Navarro, author of Mirror Me, AfterAge, Hellboy, Elektra, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tempted Champions, Species, Species II, Aliens: Music of the Spears, and Ultraviolet

“Get ready to be totally hooked, because it’s all here: incredible atmosphere, characters you truly care about, and a level of pure suspense that gets higher with every page. Jonathan Maberry is writing as well as anyone in the business right now, and I’ll be counting the days until his next book.”

-- Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-winning Author of A STOLEN SEASON

"If you have an appetite for evil you'll love sitting down to Ghost Road Blues which is deliciously creepy. Just remember though that you'll be sleeping with the lights on!”

-- Richard Sand, author of the award-winning Lucas Rook Mystery Series

“Jonathan Maberry is the big guy you'd want to back you up in a fight. Now, he's writing big, scary books that feel just right. Ghost Road Blues is dues paid in advance: read it now so you can say you were there at the beginning of a blockbuster career.”

-- Bill Kent, Author of Street Legal, Street Fighter and Street Money

"A wild mélange of soulful blues music and gut-wrenching horror! Through vivid characters and clever descriptions, Jonathan Maberry carefully crafts a very special town that any horror fan would love to live in -- that is, until it starts to get ugly.... REALLY ugly. He brings terror to life in a uniquely contemporary way. I'll be so excited to read the second book in his trilogy!"

-- Brinke Stevens -- Horror actress and author

“Wow, talk about a great novel. Not just a ‘first novel’ (and yes, that’s what it is, making Ghost Road Blues even more amazing), but a novel in and of itself. Greatness doesn’t come by very often, but here, Jonathan Maberry has shown us that it is out there, and it does exist: greatness, in every respect of the word, is what Ghost Road Blues delivers to those fortunate enough to read it. Dark, scary, and so darn well-written, one might think this book something Stephen King wrote and forgot about many years ago.”

-- Michael Laimo—author of DEAD SOULS and THE DEMONOLOGIST

If fear is your fun, Ghost Road Blues is a carnival. Most really good books leave a scar. Ghost Road Blues leaves a gaping wound. Maberry writes with heart and adrenaline. Ghost Road Blues is full of love and fear in equal measure. Ghost Road Blues reminded me why I'm afraid of the dark.

-- Charles Gramlich, author of Cold in the Light

“Maberry weaves words of mesmeric power. Gruesome, scary and bloody good fun.”

-- Simon Clark - Author of Vampyrrhic, London Under Midnight, and Night of the Triffids

"Ghost Road Blues will leave you breathless. Make sure you read it with the lights on."

-- David Housewright - Edgar Award winning author of Pretty Girl Gone and Tin City

“If you like your thrillers steeped in the bone-chilling efforts of the supernatural underworld to overwhelm our own, you will love Jonathan Maberry's GHOST ROAD BLUES. As effective an opening as I've ever read, and the jolts just keep on coming as the author focuses on ordinary Pennsylvania folk trying to stave off the unthinkable. Highly recommended, and I can't wait for the second novel in this projected trilogy."

-- Jeremiah Healy, author of THE ONLY GOOD LAWYER and TURNABOUT

“GHOST ROAD BLUES is steeped in the Blues and saturated with violence and foreboding. It starts with a sucker punch that sets the stage and tone for what lies ahead. Maberry has created a quirky, oddball of a small town that thrives on being haunted, given it a grim history, isolated it in the heart of a dark Pennsylvania forest, populated it with eccentric, charming characters--and a handful who most definitely are NOT charming--and unleashed both a modern and an ancient evil upon the unsuspecting residents.Karl Ruger is one of the baddest, meanest, kickass villains to grace the pages of a horror novel...and he's not the worst villain the book has to offer! Ruger's exploits seem ripped from the pages of IN COLD BLOOD, and the terror he inflicts on Pine Deep isn't half what I expect to see in the subsequent books in the series when Ubel Griswold kicks into high gear.Maberry's use of language is shocking and refreshing in its originality and his expertise in the martial arts allows him to orchestrate some of the most genuine hand-to-hand fight scenes I've ever read. Every blow inflicts pain and (most of) the combatants aren't superhuman beings who can withstand a beating without being disabled, maimed and scarred. Readers will come away from these scenes feeling like they've taken a thrashing, too.Bad days are ahead for the residents of Pine Deep. I can hardly wait!”

-- Bev Vincent Bram Stoker nominated author of The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King’s Magnum Opushttp://www.bevvincent.com/

"Ghost Road Blues is a hell of a book – complex, sprawling, and spooky...with strong characters and a setting that's pure Americana Halloween hell. A satisfying chunk of creepy, visceral horror storytelling with a strong background in murderous folk blues and the tragedy of America's history of racism and domestic cruelty - I'd recommend this to anyone who loves the more musically-slanted works of Stephen King, and the terror-in-the-cornfields horror films of the 70s.”

-- Jemiah Jefferson - Author of Wounds, Voice of the Blood, Fiend, and A Drop of Scarlet

“I read as much horror fiction as I can get my hands on, and it’s been a LONG time since I’ve read anything that I’ve enjoyed as much as GHOST ROAD BLUES. Incredible, awe-inspiring stuff. And how bold, to end on what is essentially a cliffhanger!

-- Stephen Susco - Screenwriter of The Grudge and The Grudge II

“Evocative and chilling, Maberry's fiction is the work of a dark magician with a poet's soul.”

-- Tim Waggoner, author of Darkness Wakes, Pandora Drive, and Like Death.

“Ghost Road Blues calls to mind the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and Manly Wade Wellman. Jonathan Maberry is obviously steeped in the classic literature of horror, but has adapted it to his own unique uses. He captures the eerie whine of the early blues singers in his prose and takes his reader to new and chilling places. If you read horror, you can't miss this book. Ghost Road Blues manages to touch every kind of horror from creepy chills to gruesome gore and builds to an unforgettable climax.”

-- H. R. Knight - Author of What Rough Beast

"With GHOST ROAD BLUES, Jonathan Maberry lands solidly on his feet in territory once dominated by Manly Wade Wellman and Joe Citro; this haunting, complex, terrifying, and deeply humane novel is steeped not only in folklore and history, but in modern dark mythology and the exploration of humankind's most valiant and unspeakable impulses. It's a wonder to behold, and a heady feast for those who've been looking for something new and lyrical in horror."

-- Bram Stoker Award-winner Gary A. Braunbeck, author of DESTINATIONS UNKNOWN and PRODIGAL BLUES

“Stunning! A fierce and new talent!”

-- Ken Bruen, international bestselling author of THE GUARDS

"Maberry's Ghost Road Blues leads with a hard left hook and never lets up, full of good, strong writing and complex characters who step right off the page and into readers' heads. It's a lyrical, frightening and often astonishing read. Although Pine Deep is not a place you'd like to call home, you'll feel as if you've been there before. A wonderful novel from a fresh new voice in the genre."

-- Nate Kenyon, author of Bloodstone

"Dark and mischievous... fun and inspired... Jonathan Maberry knows how to serve up the creepy goods!"

-- Jim O’Rear - Horror Film Stuntman & Haunted Attraction Consultant

“Maberry takes us on a chilling roller coaster ride through the cursed town of Pine Deep. You might want to keep the night light on for this one. Really.”

-- Laura Schrock - Emmy Award-winning writer/producer

"Jonathan Maberry writes densely layered prose full of real characters and plenty of eerie atmosphere. He's in tune with both the dark side of human nature and the simple goodness that can redeem us all."

-- David Wellington, author of Monster Island and Monster Nation

“Jonathan Maberry's Ghost Road Blues is not only the top horror debut of the year, it is, hands down, the best horror novel of 2006. It reads like vintage King or McCammon. Ghost Road Blues obliterates the competition. From the first page to the last, Jonathan Maberry displays the sure hand of a master of the craft. I can't wait to see what this new king of horror has in store for us next."

-- Bryan Smith, author of Deathbringer and House of Blood

"If I were asked to select only one new voice in horror fiction to read today, it would be Jonathan Maberry. Ghost Road Blues jumps so easily out of his blend of words, images, and characters you hardly realize you're reading a novel rather than watching a movie."

-- Katherine Ramsland - Author of The Vampire Companion: The Official Guide to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Piercing the Darkness: Undercover with Vampires in America Today, Ghost, Cemetery Stories, and The Science of Vampires.

“A chilling tale –lyrical, melodic, and dark. Maberry breathes new life into modern horror fiction.”

-- Scott Nicholson - Author of The Home, The Harvest, The Manor, The Red Church and Thank You for the Flowers

“If you think that small town horror has nothing new to offer the reader, you have a surprise in store for you. Jonathan Maberry's Ghost Road Blues, first in a trilogy, demonstrates that even the most haunted town in America is unprepared for the full depth of evil, either human or inhuman. A fine blend of authentic supernatural folklore and conventional villainy in a fully realized contemporary setting.”

-- Don D'Ammassa - Author of Haven, Servants of Chaos, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Scarab, Blood Beast, Encyclopedia of Fantasy & Horror, etc.

"GHOST ROAD BLUES is epic horror that puts you in the mind of THE STAND, IT, BOYS' LIFE, and THEY THIRST, but beats its own scary path. Nicely tied to the blues and the dark magic of Halloween, GRB is the first of an impressive new trilogy by Jonathan Maberry, whose vivid prose hits the right rhythms and whose creeping horrors will feed your nightmares until the next installment -- and maybe forever. High-octane storytelling meant for chilly, full-moon nights."

-- W.D. Gagliani, author of Bram Stoker Award finalist WOLF'S TRAP

"With Ghost Road Blues Jonathan Maberry resurrects the spirit of Manly Wade Wellman in rural Pennsylvania, and serves up scares like pancakes at a church social. This is a fun, fun read and creepy as hell."

-- Gregory Frost - Author of Attack of the Jazz Giants & Other Stores, Fitcher’s Brides, The Pure Cold Light and Lyrec

"Reading Maberry is like listening to the blues in a graveyard at the stroke of midnight--the dead surround you, your pounding heart keeps steady rhythm with the dark, melodic prose, and the scares just keep coming. You find yourself wondering if it's the wind howling through the cold, foreboding landscape of gray-slate tombstones or whether it's Howlin' Wolf's scratchy voice singing Evil."

-- Fred Wiehe, author of Strange Days, Starkville , Night Songs, and The Burning

As a tickler of words myself, let me tell you it's tough getting all the sought-for elements in storytelling down right. Maberry does it with such aplomb you think you've stumbled into a real, albeit alternate, universe in which the scary parts make you plead for the slow-down of the world's highest roller coaster. Like a camp counselor with a sadistic streak, Maberry sucks us into his dark tale in the Pennsylvania Pine Deep with no let-up, though the forest behind is full of unnerving sounds and the brisk air chills to the bone.

-- Noreen Ayres – Author of the Smokey Brandon mystery series

Music:

Tom Waits; Leonard Cohen; Loreena McKennitt; The Pogues; the Clash; Steely Dan; The Eagles; Buddy Guy; Mem Shannon; Willie Dixon; Judy Collins; ELP; Albert King; Jimmy Rogers; Junior Wells; Howlin' Wolf; Muddy Waters; Robert Johnson; R. L. Burnside;

Movies:

Garden State; Crash; Thank You for Smoking; Bubba-Ho-Tep; Evil Dead; Alien; Aliens; 28 Days Later; Batman Begins; Wizard of Oz; The Grudge; anything by Robert Rodriguez; Fist of Legend; Hero; House of Flying Daggers; Wedding Crashers; MysteryMen; Zoolander; The Cooler; Dark Blue; The Haunting; Night of the Living Dead; Dawn of the Dead; Day of the Dead; Land of the Dead; Serenity; Dogma; A Christmas Carol; Pitch Black; As Good as it Gets; Wag the Dog; Ghost and the Darkness; The Grudge; Dr Strangelove; Whatever Happened to Baby Jane; The Road Warrior; Choose ME; Truly, Madly, Deeply; The Searchers; She Wore a Yellow Ribbon; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Singing in the Rain

Television:

Spenser for Hire; Scrubs; Daily Show with John Stewart; The Colbert Report; Firefly; Angel; Combat!; Outer Limits; Blakes-7; UFO; Twilight Zone; Monty Python's Flying Circus; I, Claudius; Nova; Star Trek; Buffy the Vampie Slayer; Friends; Will & Grace; Mission: Impossible; Wild Wild West; 24; Studio 60; 3rd Rock from the Sun; Wiseguy; Crime Story; Adam 12; Doctor Who; One step Beyond; Night Gallery; M*A*S*H; Black Adder; 4400; Invasion; Lost; Wolf Lake; Time Tunnel; Veronica Mars; Horatio Hornblower; Mystery; Masterpiece Theater; Mystery Science Theater 3000; Dog Whisperer; Meerkat Manor; Masters of Horror; Six Feet Under; Sopranos; Ghost Story; Double Chiller Theater; The Addams Family; Doctor Shock; Greatest American Hero; Room 222; Picket Fences; Ally McBeal; Boston Legal; Have Gun Will Travel; Maverick; Barney Miller; X-Files; Extreme Makeover: Home Edition; Get Smart; Hill Street Blues; The Simpsons; THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS; NORTHERN EXPOSURE; THE PRISONER; Soap; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Wkrp in Cincinnati; Seinfeld; Twin Peaks; Fawlty Towers; Yes, Prime Minister; The Avengers; The Champions; The Man From U.N.C.L.E.; The Rockford Files.

Books:

World War Z by Max Brooks; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; I Am Legend by Richard Matheson; Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury; Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke; The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson; Burning Angel by James Lee Burke; Ice Limit by Steve Hamilton; Promise Me by Harlan Coben; Wither by John Passarella; I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison; Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card; Swan Song by Robert McCammon; Wolf of Shadows by Whitley Strieber; Monster Island by David Wellington; American Skin by Ken Bruen; Stolen Light by Michael Connelly; Killing Floor by Lee Child; Rain Fall by Barry Eisler; Vanished by Tess Gerritsen; SWF Seeks Same by John Lutz; The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff; Finn by Jon Clinch; Vengeance by Stuart Kaminsky; When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes by Lawrence Block; Mirror Me by Yvonne Navarro; Street Fighter by Bill Kent; Fitcher's Brides by Gregory Frost; The Demonologist by Michael Laimo; Cold in the Light by Charles Gramlich; Floating Dragon by Peter Straub; Salem's Lot et al by Stephen King; Harry Potter by J K Rowling; Tin City by David Housewright; Judas Goat by Jeremiah Healey;

My Blog

JONATHAN MABERRY Friday 13th BookSigning in Willow Grove

Hey guys... to celebrate Friday 13th (always one of my favorite days), I'm doing a signing of BAD MOON RISING at the Borders Express in the Willow Grove Mall.We get rolling at 6:30!Swing by and say hi...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:54:00 PST

BOOK READING AND SIGNING THURSDAY JUNE 12 WITH THE LIARS CLUB

BOOK READING AND SIGNING THURSDAY JUNE 12 WITH THE LIARS CLUB   THE LIARS CLUB at Barnes & Noble Rittenhouse Square DATE: Thursday June 12, 7 pm Barnes & Noble, Inc. 1805 Walnut Street Ph...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:28:00 PST

Jonathan Maberry Signing at Doylestown Books Friday June 6

Hey, gang&come and join me and some of my buds for a book signing tomorrow (Friday June 6) at the Doylestown Bookshop.  This will be the first group signing for the LIARS CLUB.  Joining me w...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:09:00 PST

BAD MOON RISING  The Soundtrack

Okay, guys&let's get a spooky music groove on.  I'm creating a mix tape to play when I'm doing signings and I want your suggestions for some songs (any artist, any style) that would really fit wi...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:27:00 PST

New Writers Message Forum NOW OPEN

The new and very elegant Career Doctor for Writers free message forum is now operational at http://www.careerdoctorforwriters.com/forum/ It's free and open to all writers, no matter what skill level...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:34:00 PST

THE CRAFT OF FICTION with Jonathan Maberry STARTS MONDAY JUNE 2

THE CRAFT OF FICTION with Jonathan Maberry STARTS MONDAY JUNE 2 DATE/TIME: Five sessions June 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, FEE: $125.00 (Ask about our Friends and Family Discount) LOCATION: Class will meet in...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:56:00 PST

BAD MOON RISING - Pine Deep madeness

Well, BAD MOON RISING has been out for nearly a month (longer if you count all the stores that put it on the shelf early) and the response has really been intense.  This is my third novel, and ev...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Sat, 31 May 2008 08:31:00 PST

JONATHAN MABERRYS BIG SCARY NEWSLETTER

JONATHAN MABERRY'S BIG SCARY NEWSLETTER Hello all and welcome to the newest edition of the Big Scary Newsletter& there's lot of wild stuff to catch you up on! MEN OF HORROR 2009 CALENDAR Just as I ...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Fri, 23 May 2008 07:45:00 PST

PATIENT ZERO coming to get YOU!

Michael Homler, my editor at St Martins Press just sent me the cover art for my first bioterrorism thriller, PATIENT ZERO (due out in March, 2009).  The cover, by Robert Grom, absolutely frickin'...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Thu, 22 May 2008 11:03:00 PST

Hitting the Big Five-Oh

So, tomorrow, May 18, is my 50th birthday.  My under fifty friends keep asking me if I suddenly feel 'old'.   My over fifty friends tell me that fifty is the new forty, so don't sweat i...
Posted by JonathanMaberry on Sat, 17 May 2008 10:25:00 PST