Darkwater Syndicate | News

Cover Reveal: The Secret Files of Hugo & Victoria

1/14/2019

Here's lookin' at you, sweetheart. Feast your eyes on the cover for our upcoming title, The Secret Files of Hugo & Victoria, by Buck Buchanan.

Laugh out loud comedy meets noir mystery and paranormal action within The Secret Files of Hugo & Victoria.

Hugo is a hardboiled private eye writer with wits as sharp as a switchblade. Victoria is a vampiress in denial of her mystic heritage. The duo solve the most outlandish crimes and write novels about their experiences as only private eye writers can.

Together, this unlikely pair face off against a mob of crazed coin collectors, a terrorist attack by the international criminal Ibn Etin Salami, a coven of evil vampigs and hampires (like vampires, but with more oinks and grunts), and more absurd and amazing scenarios than you can shake a vampire bat at.

Will they survive? Can the unlikely pair find love? And will Hugo ever fix his rust-bucket “classic” Yugo? Find out in The Secret Files of Hugo & Victoria.

The book will be released February 28, 2019, but pre-order your copy today so you can the first on your block to own a copy!

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Darkwater Syndicate Adds Authors Dr. Julio Varela, Buck Buchanan To Lineup

1/4/2019

Darkwater Syndicate is pleased to announce two new members to its growing family of authors. Keep your eyes peeled for their books, coming a little later this year.

Dr. Julio A. Varela: Alma Mutters
Julio A. Varela teaches undergraduate literature, humanities, and philosophy courses in South Florida, where he began teaching in 1993. Dr. Varela’s writing credits include Vortex to Virus, Myth to Meme: The Literary Evolution of Nihilism and Chaos in Modernism and Postmodernism, published in 2009 by VDM Verlag, as well as a number of book reviews for Bridges: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theology, Philosophy, History, and Science.

He received his doctoral degree in humanities from Florida State University in 2004. Dr. Varela lives in Miami, Florida. Darkwater Syndicate will publish his first novel, Alma Mutters, in early 2019. The book is a satirical look at high school education, recreational drugs, contemporary memes, rock & roll, and the overall degeneracy of the human race from one generation to the next.

Buck Buchanan: The Secret Files of Hugo and Victoria
Judging by the characters in his book, you might think the author, J.E. “Buck” Buchanan, is out there around the third ring of Saturn. In reality, he’s firmly grounded, which is where the mystery side of his novel, The Secret Files of Hugo and Victoria, comes in. Buck conducted and supervised major criminal investigations (homicide, smuggling, official corruption, fraud, etc.) for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a good chunk of his life. The secret files in his novel aren’t based on those experiences because according to him, they were much weirder than mutant vampires, werewolves, and witches.

He wasn’t born into a life of crime (writing). After he escaped high school with minimal scars from sports and young love, he studied and worked at engineering and business before settling into crime fighting. Since then, in addition to consulting, he has focused on writing, winning several short story contests and conducting a writers’ workshop for the Palm Beach County Library. He lives in South Florida with his wife Susan and every stray dog and cat she can drag in. He says he can’t complain about it because she dragged him in too.

The Secret Files of Hugo and Victoria blends laugh-out-loud comedy with noir mystery and paranormal action. Catch it February 28, 2019.

Coming Soon: It Came From The Garage!

1/1/2019

Stephen King set a trend when he wrote Christine, his novel about a murderous automobile. If there is anything the man seems to like more than evil clowns terrorizing New England hamlets, it's cars behaving badly. A cursory glance at his publications will tell you it's true: Mister Mercedes, From A Buick Eight, Maximum Overdrive... and the list goes on.

In this same spirit, Darkwater Syndicate is developing an anthology of automotive horror.

Gearheads, rejoice! We've titled this collection: It Came From The Garage! It'll feature an eclectic mix of iconic cars in horror and dark fantasy settings that are sure to rev your panic throttles and send your nerves into redline. See below for the so-far confirmed list of authors and their contributions. Since we're still putting this one together, this list is by no means final. Indeed, you can expect new additions, and maybe even a few surprises in the coming weeks.

1) M.A.D. Mobile - Antonio Simon, Jr.
2) Ugly Joyride - R. Perez de Pereda
3) A Moment In Time With Black Shadow Tess - Richard Ayre
4) The Driver - Alana Turner
5) Out on Arrowhead Road - Sarah Cannavo
6) Special Delivery - David Owain Hughes
7) The Horseman Comes Riding - Stephanie Kelley
8) The Cavalier Cavalier - Jonathan Edward Ondrashek

Join Us At: Broward Local Authors Forum

12/31/2018

Miramar Branch Library presents the 2019 Broward Local Authors Forum.

This is your opportunity to meet authors right in your backyard. From noon to 2 p.m. on January 19, 2019, head out to discover your new favorite authors at the Miramar Branch Library, located at: 2050 Civic Center Place, Miramar.

Come chat us up, let's talk books, and have a great time!

The event is free to attend. Authors will have copies of their books on hand for sale and discussion.

Cover Reveal: I Was A Teenage Cuban Arsonist

12/1/2018

Feast your eyes on this! Here's the cover reveal for Ramiro Perez's latest book, I Was A Teenage Cuban Arsonist.

Likening it less to a memoir and more to a "highlight reel" of his life, the book examines his first four decades of life. You can expect a fair amount of action, adventure, and tongue-in-cheek humor.

His story begins in 1941 with an account of his early family life, growing up with his two older brothers in Havana, Cuba. Young Ramiro gets into trouble with nuns, discovers girls, gets taken for a vicious joyride by his two older cousins, and inadvertently sets fire to his family's farm.

Things only start to heat up after his arrival in Miami. His parents having decided that he should lay low in Miami while Castro's uprising blows over, he leaves Cuba for the United States.

Alone, with only a few dollars in his pocket and a decent grasp on English, he struggles to make ends meet. Eventually, Ramiro is recruited into a counterrevolutionary movement formed in Miami to oppose Castro's regime. In a blink, young Ramiro goes from penniless immigrant to soldier of fortune with a weekly paycheck. There's just one problem: he's a staunch pacifist, but he doesn't let this fact keep him from spending the money he's given.

Mr. Perez's memoirs will be chock full of anecdotes, some heartbreaking, others laugh-out-loud funny.

The release date is January 31, 2019, but you can pre-order today.

Pre-Order This Book

Join Us At: Miami Book Fair 2018

10/25/2018

It's official: Darkwater Syndicate returns for the 2018 Miami Book Fair International.

Each November, hundreds of authors and thousands of readers converge on Downtown Miami for the nation's premier literary festival, often drawing crowds in excess of 200,000.

We'll be at the weekend street fair from Friday to Sunday, November 16th through the 18th. The event runs from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day. Antonio Simon, Jr. will be in attendance to sign autographs, speak with the media, and ensure a memorable time will be had by all who pass by Darkwater's booth.

Be sure to swing by! We are the best in Miami's independent fiction!

Author Event: Meet Horror Author Nicholas Paschall

10/24/2018

Nicholas Paschall's hitting the road again! This time, he's bringing with him the latest in his Broken Gods series: Travails For Teyuna, released earlier this year. Come out to see him November 10th at Half Price Books, located at 125 Northwest Loop 410, San Antonio TX 78216. A big thank-you to Half Price Books for hosting this event!

New Release: Postcards From The Void

9/30/2018

"An exquisitely powerful anthology... gripping scenarios that are hard to put down and unforgettable literary productions."
—Midwest Book Review.

The photos are real. The places are not.

From the creative team behind the award-winning Shadows And Teeth horror series comes a reality-bending anthology that combines eerie vintage photos with terrifying stories.

Features 25 new stories by horror luminaries Guy N. Smith, Adam Millard, Nicholas Paschall, and more!

The places in this book are shunned, abandoned and forgotten. They do not exist, and yet here you will find the stories of people who have gone and survived to tell their tales, complete with photographs. These are the postcards from the void, frightful evidence of places that should not be, and yet exist in our nightmares. Should you dare to venture into these blighted places, remember: don't talk to strangers; don't stray far from home; and never, ever go in alone.

Click the button to purchase your copy, or watch the trailer, below.

Purchase: Postcards From The Void

Cover Reveal: Florida Writers Association Collection, Vol. 10: Where Does Your Muse Live?

9/15/2018

Darkwater Syndicate has been awarded the distinct honor of publishing the tenth annual Collection of The Florida Writers Association. The book will be published on the date of the Royal Palm Literary Award Banquet, October 21, 2018.

The Florida Writers Association is the preeminent organization for writers in all stages of writing. From more than 100 entries, the association is proud to present seventy-five winning authors for this year’s theme: Where Does Your Muse Live? In addition, they are pleased to include their fifth Collection volume of winning youth writers. These exciting submissions will spark a myriad of emotional responses for your reading pleasure.

The Great Dragon Debate: Simon Versus Pereda

9/9/2018

It was bound to happen eventually. We're just surprised it didn't happen sooner.

In case you haven't been following along, the two head honchos here at Darkwater Syndicate are fantasy authors. Dragons feature prominently in their works, and the dragons in their stories couldn't be any more different. Over the years, this difference of opinion has led to heated discussions, near-fistfights, and the errant thrown shoe.

Today, the two seek to resolve their differences in a debate over whose depiction of dragons is the most accurate. But before we get into that discussion, let's introduce the debaters.

Antonio Simon, Jr.

Contestant #1: Antonio Simon, Jr.

Head of Business Development for Darkwater Syndicate
Author of The Gullwing Odyssey, a fantasy/comedy adventure
Favorite authors: Ray Bradbury, Douglas Adams, Harlan Ellison
Viewpoint: Dragons are small, intelligent, social creatures

Ramiro Perez de Pereda

Contestant #2: Ramiro Perez de Pereda

Head Acquisitions Editor for Darkwater Syndicate
Author of The Many Deaths of Cyan Wraithwate, dark fantasy
Favorite authors: Robert E. Howard, Ursula Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey
Viewpoint: Dragons are huge, monstrous beasts that exist to be fought

[MODERATOR]: Mr. Simon will begin the discussion. If you would...

[ASJ]: Gladly. If you're going to talk about dragons as a viable race, you need to take a page from science and see what works and what doesn't, from an evolutionary standpoint. Dragons can't be big, lumbering, cold-blooded brutes for the same reason dinosaurs aren't alive today. Why? Much as that fiery death-comet helped speed things along, any creature designed along the same lines as dinosaurs would be inefficient, and nature has a way of making inefficient creatures go extinct.

That's why I put forth that dragons: (1) are warm-blooded, (2) small, (3) intelligent, and (4) social.

Warm-blooded animals can live in almost any environment. What's more, their level of activity isn't dependent on their body temperature. An iguana caught in a freak cold snap will likely become so sluggish as to fall out of its tree, where it will lie helpless, unable to move until the temperature rises.

Moving on to the next point, smaller creatures have a better chance at flight than larger ones. There's a principle known as the square-cube law. I won't get into the mathematical details, but basically, the bigger a creature gets, the larger the surface area of its wings needs to be. Minimum required wing size increases far faster than body size. So, for a given modest body size, you'd need wings on the order of a B-52 bomber to get off the ground. The weight of the muscles required to power those wings alone would exceed any potential lift the wings could produce. Now take birds as an example: they're small, lightweight, and warm-blooded—all good traits for a species that can fly.

The last two traits, intelligence and social living, go hand in hand. Social behavior is something that the most intelligent species engage in because the odds of survival increase when individuals work together. Naturally, to engage in social behavior, you need some baseline of intelligence.

The dragons in my fantasy books have built a country of their own that is jockeying for advantage on the world stage. The series is set in the age of sail—massive trade fleets exploit foreign markets, dodging pirates to bring home a wealth of cargo.

The dragons' culture is unique in a world largely inhabited by humans, but it's also fragile because of all the new ideas they're being exposed to from foreign sources. Dria, a dragon princess and the female lead, understands that sticking to tradition will only stagnate her people; but leading her people into the modern day will introduce new ways of thinking that risks forever destroying their heritage.

[MODERATOR]: Mr. Perez, you have the floor.

[RPP]: Thank you. Maybe it's because I'm old, but I'm a traditionalist. For me, dragons are: (1) big, (2) ferocious, and (3) exist to make a point. That last one topic may sound a bit esoteric, but I'll explain fully when I get there.

Why big? Why not? What you have to keep in mind, at all times, is that you are writing fantasy. Fantasy is not constrained (or often concerned with) such real world concepts as true-to-life physics. Maybe, if you were writing hard science fiction a la Asimov, you would be obliged to "show your work," as my grade-school math teachers used to say in our long division lessons. Otherwise, the genre allows you to magically do away with such things, so far as you can push the reader's suspension of disbelief. Thus, if you want big dragons, you can have them, because you're writing the story.

Why ferocious? For the same reason the dragon exists in your story in the first place. Let's look at the technical aspects of writing a story. You need to ensure that every character serves a purpose. If you're writing a story where a knight must save a princess from her nasty dragon captor, the audience expects that at some point there's going to be a big, bloody fight between these two characters. How better to ramp up the drama and show off your hero's prowess than by having him vanquish a mighty opponent? Here, the dragon character serves a discrete purpose—to make the hero look good. That's its purpose, the point you're trying to get across. The dragon is there because it reminds you to cheer for the good guy. Why else do you think St. George and the Dragon has been painted so many times across the Renaissance by so many different artists?

The dragons in my book are akin to traditional depictions of dragons. Which is to say, they're big, brutishly powerful monsters that walk on all fours. They weigh tons—get outta here with that square-cube law crap!—and they're forces of nature in their own right. Whenever a hurricane or an earthquake threaten, do you run outside and fight these calamities? Of course not. You run and hide, and wait until it's over.

There are four dragons in my book—really, five, but that last one's a secret and I don't want to spoil things for you. Each of them is an intelligent creature, able to speak to the main character, but also with its own agenda, and their desires don't always align.

Now, before you call foul and say I can't have a beastly powerful dragon that's also intelligent and can speak, let me direct you back to my main point, which is: I write fiction, I can do what I want. What's more, their cunning makes them all the more dangerous, notwithstanding that they're already super-apex predators.

Each of the dragons encountered serves a purpose in the overall story. Cyan, the main character, is an impulsive jerk who'd sooner lop off heads with his battle-ax than shake your hand. He's on a quest, only, he doesn't actually know that what he seeks is something far greater than what he's set his sights on. Without spoiling the biggest twist in the book, through battling the dragons, Cyan comes to grips with the most negative parts of his life, and—however inadvertently—learns why he's been wrong for so long.

[MODERATOR]: Thank you, Mr. Perez. And now, to Mr. Simon for the rebuttal...

[???]: Stop! Stop right his minute!

[MODERATOR]: Ladies and gentlemen, please stand by as there's been an unforeseen interruption to today's discussion. Someone's approaching the microphone table... And who might you be?

Apara Moreiya

[AM]: My name is Apara Moreiya, and I'm an associate editor at Darkwater Syndicate. I couldn't help but overhear all this talk about dragons. Frankly, I'm surprised I wasn't invited to this discussion.

[MODERATOR]: What makes you think you're qualified to discuss the topic of dragons?

[AM]: I am one.

[MODERATOR]: Oh. Well, I suppose you're right. Whose story are you in?

[AM]: Pardon?

[MODERATOR]: This is a discussion of dragons in fiction. Simon describes dragons as being small and social, while Perez describes them as big and scary. Whose book are you in?

[AM]: I don't think you thought that through completely before speaking.

[MODERATOR]: So... then how are you here?

[AM]: I walked. My office is two doors down the hall. Look, I'd really appreciate it if you could keep it down in here—I've got a stack of submissions I need to get through by this Friday...

[MODERATOR]: Well, I... I mean, yes, I... I'm sorry. We'll try to be a little quieter. Oh, but before you go—would you consider yourself small, lightweight, and warm-blooded; or huge and ferocious?

[AM]: My coffee's getting cold.

[MODERATOR]: Well, that's all the time we have, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for tuning in to our discussion, and good bye for now. Please keep the discussion going and let us know what you think in the comments!