During the longest night of the century in Deer Springs, Colorado, the native creatures turn into the hunters, targeting a group of vacationers, and turning their winter vacation into a living hell. For the ones who lurk in shadow, anxious to even the score. Tonight’s the longest night of the century. The night of a thousand beasts. The night when they rise up and get to do to us what we do to them. It only happens once every seventy years. The night smells like blood and fear and sweat. The night smells of death. Praise for Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author JOHN PALISANO “Possessing a firm grasp of tradition but with his vision clearly focused on the future, John Palisano is exactly the type of writer horror needs right bold, brave, imaginative and unflinching.” —Bentley Little Praise for “Inventive dark fantasy from a fresh talent. Action, horror, and high emotional stakes make this a winner.” —Scott Nicholson, author of THE RED CHURCH “John Palisano’s Nervesis a unique montage of fantasy and horror and a breath of fresh air in either genre. His characters are rich and memorable, the suspense never-ending, and the story has more twists and turns than a Louisiana bayou. This book won’t be collecting dust on your nightstand!” —Deborah LeBlanc, author of THE WOLVEN “Think X-Men meets Lovecraft, and you have a taste of the action-packed bizarre and fascinating world that lives behind Nerves, and its dark tale of life-givers, death-bringers, and the balance that must be struck between them . . . and who will pay that price in that bargain.” —John Everson, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of SIREN “John Palisano continues his trend of engaging and visionary fiction. Nervesis dark fantasy at its most powerful, with broad, mature strokes of writing, and an insanely good cast of characters. Highly recommended.” —Rio Youers, author of OLD MAN SCRATCH and WESTLAKE SOUL “Nervesis a pure work of genius. From the very first page, John Palisano lures you into a bizarre and twisted world of dark magic where anything is possible. Gripping and unrelenting Nerveswill leave you on the edge of your seat.” —Gabrielle Faust, Author of ETERNAL VIGILANCE and REVENGE Praise for GHOST “Get this book. Don’t even bother reading my review, just drop everything and get yourself a copy. You won’t regret it. I really can’t recommend this book enough.” —Cemetery Dance Online “John Palisano’s Ghost Heartis a gritty, action-packed novel with strong characterization and some truly nasty vampires. Highly recommended!” —Tim Waggoner “Ghost Heartis a hauntingly beautiful, equally tragic and terrifying journey through your innermost fears and desires.” —Kya Aliana Praise for DUST OF THE “John Palisano crashes the zombie apocalypse genre into dystopian fiction at high speeds. Clever, brutal and highly entertaining.” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author “Dust of the Deadis one of the finest Hollywood horror novels you’ll read and a truly impressive freshman effort. Grab this one, before the dust grabs hold!” —Cemetery Dance Online “Nobody tells a story the way John Palisano does, and there’s never been a zombie book like Dust of the Dead. It’s horrifying, blackly funny, rich in pathos, and thoroughly original.” —Lisa Morton, Bram Stoker Award-winning author “Dust of the Deadis a pressure cooker of a thriller, a masterwork of world building, and a genuinely and refreshingly unique spin on the zombie genre.” —Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author
Author
One evening when I was only a small boy, my father allowed me to stay up late with him and watch NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD on television. He fell asleep, but I waited for the end. I couldn’t believe they’d let the lead guy die after all that. I was horrified. Later that summer we went to the drive-in, which was a big deal in Norwalk, Connecticut in the 1970s. Everyone went. We all piled into the Bomb, our old station wagon, and saw lots of movies there. There was a swing set right up front where a many of the little kids congregated. We got a kick out of that, especially during GREASE, because there was a similar set-up in the movie. One night, though, there was a double-feature that I’ll never forget. Demon Seed scared me, and the unforgettable images still haunt me. The film that followed, though, ruined me for good. ALIEN. I don’t think I walked past my attic door after dark that entire summer for fear the alien would snatch me up and away. Soon I couldn’t even go to the beach. JAWS waited for us. Of course, this was also the time I discovered my father’s treasure trove of old horror comics, most of which I still have safe and sound. My imagination was on fire. We went to some of the early science fiction conventions in New York. I found Fangoria, and used Tom Savini’s Grande Illusions book in an attempt to make my own monsters at home, and experimented with that for several fake-bloodstained years. Eventually, though, I realized my favorite part was in dreaming up the ideas. In all truth, I was better in that regard than in any of my make-ups. During middle school I put out a xeroxed fanzine Castle Gore that I sold to my classmates for a quarter an issue. Inside, alongside my reviews of whatever movies were coming out, I put some of my own short stories. By the time I was thirteen I’d completed my first novel . . . novella, really . . . about a time-traveling teenager who saves the world from a monster bred in a Victorian scientist’s lab. He used a flying go-kart to do so. Songwriting found me. For years I toured with rock n’ roll bands, opening for national acts, and all the while, writing lots of lyrics, poems, and short stories. Winding up at Emerson College, I truly found myself. My short stories were finally professionally published in some of the local academic literary magazines, and also my script He’d Hoped For Mars won the Latent Image Magazine screenwriting contest, but was turned into a successful short film, scored by Aaron Logan at nearby Berklee College of Music. After college I moved to Los Angeles, taking an internship with Ridley Scott. That was a phenomenal time in my life, and I learned so much. I worked on many big budget films, and got to see how those films I grew up with really came together. Of course, being in that hotbox, I wrote lots of scripts. Had an option or three, and produced a couple of low-budget films while I was at it. Something happened, though. The movies of the scripts often came out so differently than the original ideas. Budget compromises. With writing stories, well, the only limit is your imagination. You’re not limited to how much money you have, or time, or your location, or the skill of the CG artists on your team. Shifting gears to prose has not been easy. I had hundreds of rejections from top markets until I began to place my stories. That is not an exaggeration. It was harder to place a pro-level fiction piece than find financing for my first film. I love the challenge, and few things have been as satisfying. My journey continues, of course. All these years later, we finally have the release of my novel NERVES from Bad Moon Books in the winter of 2012. In the meantime, there’s lots of short stories appearing soon, and several movie projects, too. Thanks for reading. Best, John Palisano
