Archive for the ‘the men who walk like wolves’ Category

My road thriller novel WHITE KNUCKLE won second place as Thriller Of The Year at the 2020 Planet Awards in Berlin, Germany.

Saturday, November 28th, 2020

I’m honored WHITE KNUCKLE received the Planet Award.

The novel was recently published in a beautiful new German translation edition from Berlin publisher Savage Types.

From the publisher’s description:  “There’s a killer on the road… He’s a big rig truck driver who goes by the CB handle White Knuckle, and he’s Jack the Ripper on eighteen wheels. For thirty years he has murdered hundreds of women in unimaginable ways, imprisoning them in a secret compartment in his truck, abducting them in one state and dumping their dead bodies across the country. Dedicated FBI agent Sharon Ormsby is on a mission to hunt down and stop White Knuckle. She goes undercover as a truck driver with a helpful long hauler named Rudy in a cross-country pursuit that will ultimately bring her face-to-face with White Knuckle in a pedal-to-the-metal, high-octane climax on a highway to Hell.”

Here’s what people had to say about WHITE KNUCKLE:

“Eric Red is the successor to Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch. And he proves it once again here in WHITE KNUCKLE with a “road” story that is every bit as memorable as Matheson’s DUEL. Partly horror with a psycho on the loose, partly police procedural, it’s a taut suspense story, and a welcome return to the road horror story by the man who defined this genre with his screenplays NEAR DARK and HITCHER. There is no padding in the story, the pacing moves as relentlessly as White Knuckle’s black Kenworth truck. Literally, no filler – all killer.”  – Robin Pierce, Starburst Magazine. (9/10 stars)

“The character of White Knuckle himself is one of the most gruesome and terrifying ever imagined. Like Thomas Harris did in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Red demonstrates that the scariest monsters are flesh-and-blood humans we might see on any given day, with an altogether different attitude about the value of life. Eric Red is an author to discover and enjoy, and WHITE KNUCKLE is highly recommended for those who prefer their horror with a huge dose of reality. But avoid reading it before taking a road trip, unless you’re prepared to alter your route before hitting the road.” – Bookgasm.

“Absolutely compelling reading…While WHITE KNUCKLE is punctuated by brutal violence and high action, it’s really powered by its characters. FBI Agent Sharon Ormsby is an effective protagonist that really comes to life, a strong and smart woman with a real life and a past that she will have to confront. The action of the story rests on her able shoulders…You can’t be sure what the future has in store for any character, and you can’t get comfortable with anything or take anyone’s fate for granted.” – Tim Potter, The Horror Review.

“Rip-roaring, knuckle-biting, constantly suspenseful adventure in this riveting mystery thriller by the author of IT WAITS BELOW, WHITE KNUCKLE pits a probationary FBI Special Agent with a sad background and finely tuned intuition against a human monster–a long hauler trucker who began killing and torturing animals at age six and who has slaughtered women and girls in interstate rampages for four decades. Rife with high-octane tension, WHITE KNUCKLE is a Don t Miss, but don’t read while traveling the highways, or sleeping alone.” – Mallory Heart Reviews (Five star review)

“Red’s prose is hammer down all the way. If you’re looking for a good, solid read to wile away a few summer hours, WHITE KNUCKLE is certainly worth a look.” – Cemetery Dance.

“WHITE KNUCKLE is a tautly gripping thriller that keeps you on edge throughout the entire cross-country trek. It’s a heart-thudding thrill-ride that must be taken this summer.” – Arrow In The Head at JoBlo.com.

“WHITE KNUCKLE is one mean mutha truck driver.” – Jack Ketchum.

Subscribe to the Official Eric Red YouTube channel.

Thursday, November 5th, 2020

Watch  selected scenes from my movies, original uncut sequences, exclusive making of behind-the-scenes documentaries, book trailers, and lots more fun stuff!  Check it out at: https://youtube.com/user/johnryder12000

THE MEN WHO WALK LIKE WOLVES horror western series from SST Publications.

Saturday, October 31st, 2020

For Halloween saddle up and take a scary ride into my popular werewolf western novels, THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE and the sequel THE WOLVES OF EL DIABLO, from SST Publications!  Available in fine hardcover and trade paperback and well as digital editions at http://amzn.to/2LK48oi

The Ultimate Genre

Friday, September 25th, 2020

The Western, I believe, is the ultimate genre.

The epic nomenclature of tough, strong cowboys in big hats with guns and horses pitted in physical and psychological contests of good versus evil fought on rugged frontier landscapes that externally mirror their own jagged internal natures is mythic and timeless. But while the entire world loves westerns, the U.S. owns the brand, and westerns remain our own uniquely American mythology and true contribution to pop culture. Westerns are the American Arthurian Legend.

Born from the harsh realities of the Old West, bred through a century of thrilling popular culture in novels and film that fired the public imagination, imprinted by books and movies that cross-pollinated each other to create a grand mythology that remains popular as ever today; it’s hard to tell now where the reality ends and myth begins with westerns, but cowboy good guys and bad guys are baked into our collective consciousness.

While there is a certain mystery to the mystique of the western, some things are certain: it’s a heroic genre, full of honor and nobility with bigger-than-life heroes and villains; it’s a physical genre, action-packed on the purest level with riding and fistfights and shooting; and it’s a cathartic genre, where morality tales about good versus evil end in a decisive, satisfying showdown at the climax that gives us a vicarious sense of triumph we rarely achieve in our complicated real world where right and wrong is not always clear.

Some part of us needs this as human beings on the deepest level, which is the appeal of all heroic mythologies going back forever. Reading or watching a western, however briefly, we experience the wish fulfillment of becoming the cowboys we played at being as kids and heroes we want to be as adults if only real life were as simple as saddling your horse, grabbing your guns, and riding to the rescue.

One of the things as a screenwriter and novelist I appreciate most about westerns is the genre can absorb every other genre into the storytelling; elements of other genres like thriller, mystery, crime, even horror, all can be injected into a western story. There is even a thriving genre of romance westerns! The classic template of cowboys and guns and horses and landscapes is a canvas that can be painted with many brushes; this very adaptability makes it such an exciting genre for a writer to explore.

While many folks know me for my horror and thriller films and books, in actuality westerns are my favorite genre and the genre I’ve worked the most in, having written and produced western movies, written western novels and even created a western comic book. The movie was an HBO film called The Last Outlaw starring Mickey Rourke, a gritty, bloody adventure about a gang of outlaws pursued by a posse led by their leader who they had left for dead.

Mixing the horror and western literary genres became the inspiration for my novels The Guns Of Santa Sangre and its sequel The Wolves Of El Diablo from SST Publications, about three tough American gunfighters battling several generations of werewolves who are bandits by day in Old Mexico.

My bestselling current western book series, the Joe Noose Westerns from Pinnacle Books & Kensington Books, revolves around the adventures of a tough and complex bounty hunter in 1800s Wyoming. With Noose, Hanging Fire, Branded and The Crimson Trail, the Noose series is on its fourth book with more to come.

My lifelong love of the Western genre continues to inspire me endlessly as a creative open range of possibilities always offering new frontiers in storytelling.

Saddle up.

The new German translation edition of my road thriller novel WHITE KNUCKLE publication day.

Friday, March 6th, 2020

Trade paperback and digital editions available now from the publisher Savage Types in Germany.

Rave reviews for my horror western series THE MEN WHO WALK LIKE WOLVES.

Saturday, July 27th, 2019

“Readers of director-screenwriter Eric Red’s latest Western-horror novels will rediscover an Old West genre that is an international fan-favorite in print and film.” – True West Magazine

“The Guns of Santa Sangre and The Wolves of El Diablo are wild rides that revisit the Western genre and mixes it up with a traditional horror genre monster and somehow cooks up something that is fresh, exciting and exhilarating.” – Starburst Magazine

“Bloody and brutal, The Wolves of El Diablo and The Men Who Walk Like Wolves series will please those looking for an entertaining mix of horror and breakneck action…The fast-paced and thrilling action sequences will have readers holding their breath.” – Ares Magazine

The Wolves of El Diablo is a well written, action packed, gore drenched, bullet ridden, runaway train of a tale.”– Kendall Reviews

“It’s The Magnificent Seven meets Dog Soldiers! Taut, action packed and gory as hell! I couldn’t put it down!” – Arrow In The Head at JoBlo.com

“With The Guns of Santa Sangre, Eric Red delivers a wild mash-up of action-thriller and bloody horror. This one really digs its claws into you from page one to last bite. Fast, furious, and wickedly fun. Highly recommended.” – Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author.

“In our mythos of the Old West, there are bad guys and even badder guys,  But Eric Red’s are the biggest, baddest guys of all…” – Jack Ketchum

The Men Who Walk Like Wolves #1 The Guns of Santa Sangre & #2 The Wolves of El Diablo are available in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook from SST Publications at: amzn.to/2LK48oi and amzn.to/2vvq9KE

All of my novels are on the shelves of Valley Bookstore in Jackson, Wyoming.

Friday, November 2nd, 2018

Valley Bookstore is on 125 N Cache Street, right across from Antler Square.

http://www.valleybookstore.com

#DONTSTANDSOCLOSE #ITWAITSBELOW #WHITEKNUCKLE#THEGUNSOFSANTASANGRE #THEWOLVESOFELDIABLO #NOOSE#ERICRED

New interview on Kendall Reviews.

Monday, March 19th, 2018

Eric Red chats to Kendall Reviews

Coffee is ready…

KR: Could you tell me a little about yourself please?

I’m a Los Angeles-based film director and screenwriter and novelist. I started in the motion picture business thirty years ago and have been writing novels for six years now.

KR: What do you like to do when not writing?

I love spending time with my wife and dogs and seeing friends. Otherwise I’m reading or watching movies.

KR: What is your favourite childhood book?

The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. I also loved the Dr. Suess books.

KR: What are you reading now?

Just finished Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and Without Fail by Lee Child, my favorite contemporary author, and am starting Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama.

KR: What is your favourite album, and does music play any role in your writing?

Hard to pick a favorite album but The Beatles are my favorite musicians. I have all their records on a playlist on iTunes I listen to constantly. When I’m writing, I listen to a lot of movie scores, especially by Jerry Goldsmith and Elmer Bernstein. Maybe it’s my movie background but film music inspires me when I write and gets me into the zone.

KR: Who were the authors that inspired you to write?

As a young author, in no order, Richard Price, Jim Harrison, John Irving and William Goldman. Given my books and films, those are probably not the authors people would expect, but these were the writers whose books spoke to me on a very deep level and made me want to be a writer.

KR: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

I’m methodical. Because of my screenwriting background I’m a structure wonk rigorous about working out the story beats—for me character flows from story, not the other way around. First I come up with a three- or four-sentence summary of a novel because all books must begin with a great idea in my opinion. Then I write a one-page synopsis, after which I write a ten-page outline with a beginning, middle and end. Once I have that, I’m ready to start the book. And during this time I’m making pages and pages of notes, because ideas start coming to me constantly for a novel I’m hot on.

KR: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

The short answer is all the research necessary, but that depends on the book and the subject matter. My third novel IT WAITS BELOW was a science fiction thriller involving a submersible sub that dove to the bottom of the ocean, so I spent months interviewing one of the top pilots of those kind of subs and oceanographic scientists to get all the details right. On the other hand, my first novel DON’T STAND SO CLOSE was a high school coming-of-age thriller and most of the research involved remembering my own high school experiences.

To read the rest of the interview, go to http://bit.ly/2IxLMBT

True West Magazine reviews my novel THE WOLVES OF EL DIABLO.

Sunday, November 19th, 2017

“Readers of director-screenwriter Eric Red’s latest Western-horror novel will rediscover an Old West genre that is an international fan-favorite in print and film.” – Stuart Rosebrook, True West Magazine.

Available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle editions from SST Publications at: https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Diablo-Men-Walk-Like/dp/1909640980/ref=la_B0034OY3T8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503670130&sr=1-2

True West Magazine reviews THE WOLVES OF EL DIABLO.

Sunday, November 19th, 2017

“Readers of director-screenwriter Eric Red’s latest Western-horror novel will rediscover an Old West genre that is an international fan-favorite in print and film.” – Stuart Rosebrook, True West Magazine.

Available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle editions from SST Publications at: https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Diablo-Men-Walk-Like/dp/1909640980/ref=la_B0034OY3T8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503670130&sr=1-2