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Amanda Wyss and Thommy Hutson on Bringing ‘Jinxed’ Audiobook to Life

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Jinxed

Back in 2018, Thommy Hutson (Never Sleep AgainThe Id) published Jinxed, a young adult horror novel that read like a classic slasher and made superstitions a means for murder. The book garnered positive reviews from critics and left readers on the edge of their seats.

Set against the backdrop of a sprawling, yet isolated, post high school for the performing arts, a small group of students in Jinxed find themselves trapped over a holiday on the school’s grounds with a masked killer out for vengeance. The novel is alternately brutal and beautiful and really draws upon the nostalgic feel of old school horror films and novels.

Last year, Hutson teamed up with iconic horror actress Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street) to create an audiobook version of the novel, and it’s available now for horror fans who want to experience Jinxed in a whole new way.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Hutson and Wyss to discuss the process of recording this book and what it meant to have a new version of Jinxed in the world.

“I had talked to Amanda about how much I wanted her to do it,” Hutson said. “I thought it would be fun to work together again, but also she’s such a wonderful actress. I think that–particularly for a book like this that’s a young adult, thriller, horror, slasher–you want somebody that can bring the characters to life, but you also want someone to bring the gravitas and the drama and the excitement of the pieces in between.”

“Thommy basically put together a kind of look-book in a way of how he had kind of envisioned the characters and his ideas about them,” Wyss added. “The interesting thing is that when I read it—I read the book a couple of times before we recorded it—we were so on the same page with how I heard them. I guess it was just so clear in the writing and so it was fun.”

With the two creatives in sync for the project, it was time to get down to work.

Wyss noted that she approached reading the book like scenes in a film. She would sit down before recording and make notes for herself about the work they would do for the day and the characterizations she would use. She would also mark the more emotional beats of the “script” so that she would hit those in a way that she thought would resonate with listeners.

“When I was doing the narration part of it,” she explained. “I would picture it like I was telling my nieces and nephews this great story. So that’s kind of the vision I had in my head while I was narrating. I tried to bring each character to life as if I had an audience and I was telling them the story and acting them out.”

The process worked well, and Hutson noted that he was really knocked out by what Wyss was able to do within each “scene” in the book.

“I didn’t want to listen to every day’s recording,” he said. “I wanted to hear the thing in its entirety, but there was one time the publisher sent me, we’ll call them the dailies. What I found so interesting was just the way that she was so good at doing the reading but then she would stop and reread a passage in a slightly different way and I was like, ‘Oh I get it now.’ It was fascinating to hear that process and then I stopped because I was just like, I just want to hear it from start to finish.”

Finding all those characters was a challenge, but one that Wyss was ready to tackle, and she brought her life experiences with her. Having attended drama school in her teen years, she was fully aware what the environment Hutson’s students were experiencing was like. She also had the benefit of working with Wes Craven early on in her career which was a master class in itself.

“I got to learn from the best with Wes Craven,” she said. “He showed us all the subtle things you can do as an actor to help the writer and director bring their tension to life.”

“Horror is, in so many ways, drama,” Hutson continued. “At a performing arts school which I also went to, there is that heightened sense of drama. Even though students are friends, they’re still shooting for the top billing, for the lead. I think Amanda was able to just bring all those nuances together and weave that kind of tapestry. It’s not just a slasher. It’s not just horror. It’s not just drama. And that’s what is so great.”

Jinxed was written as the first volume of a trilogy, and Hutson says he’s zeroing in on completing the second book even as we speak. That, of course, begged the question of whether Wyss would return to record the second and third books as they happen.

“I want Amanda to do the whole trilogy!” Hutson exclaimed, laughing. “I think it’s important to have that carry through especially when you have a trilogy planned.”

“As long as Thommy wants me, I’m already there,” Wyss agreed. “I’m so proud of this book and of Thommy and his writing and I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of it. I think people will really love it and enjoy it.”

It just so happens we agree. Jinxed is available on Audible. Get yours today by CLICKING HERE!

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‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

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Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

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Holland House Ent. Announces New Book “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

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Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983’s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the film’s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Holland’s own personal archive – Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the film’s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), I wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the film’s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklin’s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. I’d had no idea he’d written them before he passed in 2007.”

“Reading them,” continues Holland, “was like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.”

“So, step back with me forty years and let’s see how it happened.”

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

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Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

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It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as “better than I am now” and “a lot more energetic.” But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

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