Interview up at Oxyfication (with Justin Holt)

•August 16, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Justin Holt spent the last week interviewing me about Transubstantiate, and other things too – how I got started, what my influences were, my thoughts on various genres, and what my plans are for the future. Be sure to check it out.

OXYFICATION

Intro:

Richard Thomas is a busy man. He’s a husband and father of twins. He’s a graphic designer. He helps moderate a writing workshop at The Cult, one of the most popular author websites in the world. He’s helped edit zines and magazines alike. He’s pursuing his MFA in Fiction. He’s part of a group of up-and-coming writers who each year help each other through the hardships of writing a novel. And yeah, he’s also a writer whose debut novel, a neo-noir thriller called Transubstantiate, was published in July 2010, the flagship novel of the upstart independent press Otherworld Publications. High on life and hell-bent on sharing in the revelry of being part of a new movement of fresh voices to the literary world Richard stopped by Oxyfication to share a little bit about himself, how his debut novel Transubstantiate came to be, and what it’s like when one of your literary heroes tells you that your writing reminds them of their literary heroes.

Amazon Bots Giving Me Some Love

•August 12, 2010 • Leave a Comment

So, I got an email from Amazon yesterday, and it kind of caught me off guard. It wanted to know if I was interested in some other thrillers, some books. Of course I’m interested, let me open that email and see what you’ve got for me today. And what was it?

Wow. There’s my own book. How many people did this email go out to? I actually haven’t bought my OWN book on Amazon yet (believe it or not) but I’ve thought about it. It might generate some links to “other books” of a similar nature, other books I’ve bought. Other authors that I love – King, Straub, SGJ, Baer, Clevenger, Palahniuk, Mieville, etc. So I’m not really sure how or why I got this email. But I LIKE IT!

And, I’m in pretty good company. Kristopher Young, I know this guy, have actually read Click, it’s a good book. But Brian Evenson? I mean, he’s a GIANT. I’ve seen him at several panels at AWP, have talked to him a little bit, he’s larger than life. I’ve read a lot of his stories, and strangely enough, have Fugue State in my “wishlist” at Amazon, been meaning to read it, that and Last Days. And then there’s Audition, a very dark movie, and I can only assume, a very dark and strange book. But it’s nothing like Transubstantiate, as far as I know. Except they’re both dark, and thrillers, I guess.

But, whatever happened here, I’m happy that Amazon has done something for me, sent out this email to I’m hoping MILLIONS of people. Okay, maybe dozens, but I’ll take it. I even heard from some friends of mine that they got the same email. So, it wasn’t just me.

It’s one of those little things, like chatting with people at GENCON, answering their questions, signing books. I sold THREE signed/limited editions! At $40 a pop! To total strangers. That’s kind of cool (and a bit intense). Or getting a random IM on Facebook from somebody that just says LOVING YOUR BOOK, and then POOF, the guy is gone. A fan in the UK, happy with the book, but maybe too shy to actually talk to me about it. Guess I’m BIG TIME now.

Not really. I’m as humble as ever, thrilled to see so many people enjoying the book. Busy with Disintegration, the next one. And loving every minute of it.

Thanks Amazon, spawn of Satan, giant book beast, my crack cocaine addiction. Thanks for spreading the word, giving me a little love. I’ll take it.

Epic Review of Transubstantiate at Oxyfication

•August 5, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Jason Kane reviews Transubstantiate at Oxyfication

Jason Kane has written a fantastic review of my novel Transubstantiate up at Oxyfication. THIS is my audience, he gets it, and he really likes it. Such an elegant, insightful review. WARNING: There are mild spoilers throughout, but nothing that will detract from the novel, but purists may want to read it after the book.

OXYFICATION REVIEW OF TRANSUBSTANTIATE

Here’s a snippet:

Casual brutality, sex, and disorder: the heroes of noir have never been terribly endearing to the heart, but the seven nihilistic souls of Richard Thomas’ Transubstantiate seem like they were born ruined, and are likely to die that way. The story draws heavily on all the beloved accouterments of the neo-noir tradition—fractured narratives; cynicism; disorientation; ruthless beatings—but the story branches out into other areas, exploring themes of mysticism and the unknowable, even broaching the peripheral terrors of Lovecraftian horror.

Cruising Wicker Park

•July 23, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Wicker Park, IL - Lived here for 12 years

Head on over to my blog to read the full article, but I had a blast in my old stomping grounds, Wicker Park today. Put up posters for Transubstantiate, handed out 200 postcards, and bought a TON of books!

RICHARD DOES WICKER PARK

Reading at Archie’s – Sunday, July 18th, Chicago

•July 14, 2010 • Leave a Comment

I’ll be reading this Sunday from my new novel, Transubstantiate. If you’re in the area, come on out.

PFR DIVE READING
Date: Sunday, July 18, 2010
Time: 8:00pm – 11:30pm
Location: Archie’s Iowa Rockwell Tavern
Street: 2600 W Iowa
City/Town: Chicago, IL

Here’s the link to the Event page on FB too:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130679203628854

Buy a signed paperback copy of Transubstantiate directly from me, the author.

•July 12, 2010 • 2 Comments

Personally inscribed

Would you like a signed copy of Transubstantiate, a personalized copy of the paperback? If you are interested, click the button below, and go to Paypal, and I’ll take care of it. If you want a personal inscription, leave it in the comments window when you pay. Otherwise, it’ll come signed, with no inscription. Thanks for your support.

CLICK BELOW
to buy a signed, paperback copy
of Transubstantiate, by Richard Thomas
$20.00 (includes shipping, US & CANADA only)

CLICK BELOW
to buy a signed, paperback copy
of Transubstantiate, by Richard Thomas
$25.00 (includes shipping, INTERNATIONAL)

100 signed, limited editions…are signed!

•July 9, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Here are some pictures from the signing of my 100 S/L. Mailed back to OWP today, Fed Ex, so if the CDs are all ready to go, then they should be in the mail in a week or so:




Get them while they last at http://www.otherworldpublications.com!

Glowing review at Rotten Leaves

•July 9, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Review at Rotten Leaves
Fantastic three-headed review of Transubstantiate at Rotten Leaves, by Axel Taiari, Christopher Dwyer and Nik Korpon (Otherworld Publications label mate). http://www.rottenleaves.com/review-transubtantiate-by-richard-thomas/ Axel: “…while other authors could easily struggle with unleashing multiple points of view at such pace, Richard manages to make it all fit together, make sense, build characters, craft a vivid world, each new chapter giving you an additional piece of the puzzle, changing the whole picture, again and again, until the epilogue where everything falls into place and the reader is allowed to breathe once more.” Christopher: “It’s not just well-written and beautiful. It’s the ambition behind the style, the scope; it’s the way Richard blends sci-fi with noir with thrills with horror with a cherry-tip drop of literary goodness…” Nik: “One of the things that really struck me…was this seamless melding of multiple genres while still retaining what sycophants would say is a literary voice, meaning it’s a very well-written novel while still having the constant clicking of impending doom in the background.”
For the full reviews go to the link above or click on the picture.

Five star review at Bitten By Books

•July 2, 2010 • Leave a Comment

5/5 at BBB for Transubstantiate

BITTENBYBOOKS.COM – 5/5 tombstones

I’m very excited that I just got my first post-release review at  Bitten by Books, and she really loved it. She actually went out and bought a copy too.

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=26303

“The calculated gestures, gasps and sighs, or the cold bloodied neck snaps and shanking – all were beautifully written and crafted with clever lunacy…This is Richard Thomas’s debut novel, and if this is the norm for him, I will be eagerly awaiting his next novel with dark fascination.”

Early praise for Transubstantiate

•June 26, 2010 • 1 Comment

We have several blurbs in for Transubstantiate. Thank you to all of the authors that took the time to respond.

Transubstantiate is, is — it’s a visual: that 2001 baby opening its eyes in the monolith, but the monolith is shrouded in this story of loss and hope and identity, and encoded in the cadence of that story, if you listen close, is the genetic map with which to draw this impossible celestial infant, opening its eyes on the page, looking right into you.”
—Stephen Graham Jones
All The Beautiful Sinners, Bleed Into Me: A Book of Stories,  Ledfeather, The Ones That Got Away

Transubstantiate is an intricately-woven dystopian thriller, with every thread pulled tight. This is a solid debut from Richard Thomas.”
—Craig Clevenger
The Contortionist’s Handbook, Dermaphoria

“Richard Thomas’s Transubstantiate constructs a collection of voices that reveals a disturbing futuristic vision of terror and beauty. The novel’s island paradise, its imprisoned inhabitants, and the digital presence that works to control them, merge with ancient forces of rite and belief to create a surreal and devastating collage. This is a work that captures a world we almost know, its realities enough to raise an uneasy sense of potentiality.”
—Karen Brown
Pins and Needles, The Best American Short Stories 2008
(contributor)

“Told through various shadowy narrators, Transubstantiate is a trippy, intriguing novel that forecasts dystopia for our near-future. Thomas successfully blends several genres here—noir, literary fiction, sci-fi—all with abrasive, haunting language.”
—Joey Goebel
Torture the Artist, The Anomalies, Commonwealth

 
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