A Novel Idea… Michael McCarty’s novels

I really do love writing novels. But they take so damn long to write. LOL. My last one I written was about 7 years ago.

Anyway.
So far, I have written:

Monster Behind The Wheel (with Mark McLaughlin)

Out of Time (with Connie Corcoran Wilson)
Night of the Scream Queen (with Linnea Quigley)
Return of the Scream Queen (with Linnea Quigley)
And the BLOODLESS series with Jody R. LaGreca:
Bloodless, Bloodlust and Bloodline

APOCALYPSE AMERICA (with Mark McLaughlin)

Out of those 9 books above:
Liquid Diet & Midnight Snack, Apocalypse America and the BLOODLESS are the only ones still left in print and their sales are only have been so-so at best.

I’d love to write a 10th novel, but don’t think I can afford it write now

MONSTER was a Bram Stoker Finalist for First Novel and did not win

LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE was a Bram Stoker Finalist for Long Fiction and did not win

Here are the links to my novels and novella …

LIQUID DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK

LIQUD DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK

By Michael McCarty

INTERLUDE WITH THE VAMPIRE …. OR INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE WRITER As the blood-red sun sets over the Chicago skyline real-life vampire, Andrew Bloodsworth makes his way into WOLF 99.9 FM, an all-night radio station hosted by the beautiful Bella Donna, Goth queen of the airwaves. As Bloodsworth reveals how he first became a vampire and the dark secrets and desires of the undead, listeners call in to talk to the undead writer. Most of the listeners are vampire and horror enthusiasts who are overjoyed to talk to a real life vampire, but OTTO—the Opposition To The Occult, a religious right-wing organization—is also listening to the radio show, and they’re not amused. If that wasn’t enough, tabloid TV host, Harry Winger, who features equally outrageous guests on his program, wants Bloodsworth to appear on his show. Plus, the Amazing Kreskin, the world’s foremost mentalist, has just had a premonition of imminent disaster. What will happen next? Tune in to find out!

LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE

By Joe McKinney & Michael McCarty

Lake Livingston: August, 1961.

Mark Gaitlin is 15, the son of one of the wealthiest men in Texas, and on the most boring summer vacation of his life. His days are filled with the pomp and circumstance of country club life, while his nights are a parade of one embarrassment after another at the hands of giggling teenage girls.

But the piney woods above Lake Livingston are dark at night, and hold many secrets for an impressionable youngster on the cusp of becoming a man. And one night, after skinny dipping in the lake with a mysterious local girl, Mark Gaitlin’s life takes a crazy turn into the fire and brimstone religion of backwoods snake handlers and abandoned villages haunted by old family secrets. If he can survive the snakes and the ghosts and his own family’s dark history, he just might make it out of the woods alive.

APOCALYPSE AMERICA

By Michael McCarty & Mark McLaughlin

Flesh-eating dust mites, Internet Witches, murderous robots, giant scorpions, demonic creatures and sophisticated cannibals – these horrors and more inhabit the future ruins of the United States in APOCALYPSE AMERICA! by Michael McCarty and Mark McLaughlin.

Following a devastating nuclear war, America is thrown into chaos. Malevolent Internet Witches use their monstrous cyber-magic to attack the country through its computers. The last hope for humanity rests with Cain, a post-apocalyptic nomad who is determined to find a legendary paradise known as Eden. Cain is joined on his trek by new friends: Galileo, a surgically enhanced rabbit with a human mind; a brilliant robot named RT-Fax; and Miranda, a downloaded Internet Witch who has discovered the joys of being human.

The group is pursued on their journey by the Shadow Man, the demon Legion, and various minions of the Internet Witches. The friends travel across America in search of Eden, and learn that the country has become a dizzying patchwork of bizarre compounds, whose inhabitants are desperate, dangerous, and sometimes, not even human.

The BLOODLESS series by Michael McCarty & Jody LaGreca

All 3 novels in one book:

Or sold separately ……

Book One:

Book One:

BLOODLESS

by Michael McCarty & Jody R. LaGreca

Bloodless contains actual historical events infused with fiction. Modern-day vampire, Daniel Peck, succumbs to his transformation on the Lusitania when the beautiful and ancient Veronica, Queen of the Undead, beguiles him. Daniel survives when the ocean liner is sunk by the Germans in 1915, and when the Hindenburg explodes in 1937. Years later Daniel is a substitute teacher in Baltimore, Maryland. He feeds off the energy of four students and turns them into zombie-like creatures, who subsist on human remains. Daniel frequents The Stardust Inn for more carnage. He changes lovely motel proprietor, Annie Julliard, into a blood drinker. Annie vows to be a white vampire, who does only for the good. Daniel marries Annie and brings home the thralls as his adopted children. From then on, things become very complicated …Dark, exotic, macabre and spellbinding, Bloodless enters another dimension where history, vengeance and eroticism exceed the limits …

Book Two:

BLOODLUST

By Jody R. LaGreca & Michael McCarty

Psychic vampire, Daniel Peck, lives on with vengeance and movie star madness in this sequel to BLOODLESS by Michael McCarty (Bram Stoker finalist) and Jody R. LaGreca. Witness the illicit saga which leads to Marilyn Monroe’s untimely demise and more in this twisted tale of glamour and seduction. Beware of kisses in the dark and the echo of eternity — which bears the curse of Daniel. Uncover the mystery of The Stardust Inn and the love triangle between Daniel, hotel proprietor, Annie Julliard, and her sister Vicki — while the Omni powerful Veronica, who has Daniel beneath her spell, has her own agenda. Meanwhile, FBI agent, Ronald Barrett, has been chasing Daniel down for over three decades for slaughtering his mother. Not your cookie cutter vampire tale, BLOODLUST is infused with horror, history and romantic suspense. It will illuminate your senses and take you to uncharted worlds beyond the imagination.

Book Three

BLOODLINE

By Michael McCarty & Jody R. LaGreca

In the swinging 1960s, over one-hundred-year-old vampire, Daniel Peck, meets the fetching young artist named Georgia “Gigi” Carrington. She is just his type: Blood type that is. Their hot romance smolders into flames when they vow never to see each other again after a blowup. The old vampire is now settled down with motel proprietor, Annie Julliard, at the Stardust Inn with his tween daughter Clarice, and infant son Louis. The vampire family faces a crisis when Annie’s infamous house next to the motel is going to be repossessed. Annie vows to turn “Wall Street into Blood Street” to get her home aka “Vampire Ville” back. After a dispute regarding their finances Annie forces Daniel out. He reconnects with his old flame, Gigi. After a half-a-century apart, their reunion enfolds into an explosive connection and bloodcurdling conclusion to the acclaimed BLOODLESS Series…

And finally … a novel co-written with a Scream Queen

(Photo: Michael McCarty, Linnea Quigley & The Tarman)

RETURN OF THE SCREAM QUEEN

Embrace of the Aztec Vampire

by Michael L McCarty, Linnea Quigley & Stan Swanson

A profound and highly entertaining horror adventure and tribute to B-movies of a lost age. Scream Queen Desiree Starr is tired of starring in one low budget horror movie after another, and with each passing film her wardrobe becomes skimpier and skimpier. Zyana, an Aztec queen who has returned from death for vengeance against those who deprived and decimated her long-ago empire, cares not who gets in her way. Horror film cinema personality Desiree returns to Florida to film another horror movie, only to face the perilous ordeal of confronting the Aztec Queen. Mayhem, gore, sex, and an unimaginable assortment of carnage ensues, the likes of which only authors Michael McCarty, Scream Queen herself Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead), and Stan Swanson can write into a mind-blowing story that will totally mess you up!

“McCarty, Quigley, Swanson make one helluva good team. Their voices blend seamlessly to form a madcap romp through the B movie horrors we all love so much. Their plotting is as tight as a scream queen’s bikini, and their story every bit as titillating.” – Joe McKinney, legendary Bram Stoker award winner.

Ebook:

Trade paperback or hardcover

120,000 words in 2026: Living Local

By Michael McCarty

Tristan Tapscott, Brandy & Michael McCarty

From writing more than 120,000 words this year to finishing plays and working on new projects, our next guest has been busy!

Please welcome back to the show – Mr. Michael McCarty!

For the full story visit https://www.ourquadcities.com/…/catching-up-with-local…/

For more information find Michael’s books on Amazon

Remembering Tim Curry

By Michael McCarty

I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Tim Curry on August 25, 2026.

Watching “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Duck Creek Cinemas was a pivotal part of my teenage years. I even won first place in a Brad Majors look-a-like contest there. The movie had a huge impact on me; I wrote an article about it and “Mr. Bill’s Midnight Movies” that made the front page of the Bettendorf News. Later, during my college years in Iowa City, I wrote another piece on “Rocky Horror” for the Daily Iowan.

Beyond “Rocky Horror,” I always appreciated Curry’s broader filmography, including his roles in “Times Square,” “Clue,” “The Hunt for Red October,” and even “Congo.” He was terrific as Pennywise in the mini series “It!” And it was also wonderful to see him return for the live TV adaptation of “Rocky Horror.”

He was a remarkable talent and will be greatly missed.

Photo of Tim Curry

I mentioned the Daily Iowan.

Here is a reprint of that story

The Daily Iowan

Thursday, November 7, 1985

Arts / Entertainment:

“Audience participation preserves Rocky Horror tradition at Astro”

By Michael McCarty

Special to The Daily Iowan

“Lips, Lips, Lips ….” the members of the audience chant.

It’s midnight at the Astro Theatre in Iowa.

As the light dim, attention focus on an enormous pair of ruby lips. The chanting accelerates, people start clapping and the lips start signing.

The Rock Horror Picture Show is part of a series of midnight movies shown at local theaters and sponsored by Iowa City radio station KRNA.

In the past, the series featured such films as The Blues Brothers, My Bloody Valentine, The Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, Heavy Metal and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

(The Blues Brothers movie)

CULT MOVIES can range from comedies to horror movies.

“When you speak of cult movies, you speak of extremes,” wrote Danny Peary in the book Cult Movies, Dell Publishing Co., 1981.

Movies such as Rocky Horror Picture Show “characteristically feature atypical heroes and heroines, offbeat dialogue, surprising plot resolutions, outstanding special effects, spectacular camera work, highly original story lines, brave themes, often of a social or political nature, definitive performances by stars who have cult status, the novel handling of popular but stale genre,” according to Cult Movies.

Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of the Astro’s most successful midnight movies. This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of its first showing. The picture made for $1.5 million has grossed more than $60 million. (Author’s note, since the publication of this article, “Rocky Horror,” has made over $160 million).

Part of Rocky Horror Picture Show’s success has been due to audiences participation. While costume audience members recite the dialogue, other audience members throw toast, paper, rice, toilet paper and water balloons at the screen.

Because the Astro prohibits outsides objects from being brought in, they sell kits before each performance of the show. Anton Koach, assistant manager said. “There were some eggs thrown at the screen and it was ruined.” The kits include rice and playing cards, among other things, and cost 50 cents.

THE AUDIENCE antics take time to clean up, according to one employee; however, according to Astro employee Christy Wildebour, “it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

Rocky Horror Picture Show “was loads of fun,” said Wildebour. “The clean up wasn’t bad they check people’s pockets before letting them in.”

Vickie Schleif, Astro manager, said the typical cult films audience ranges from age 17 to 30. with usually more than 100 people showing up.

Schleif gets a list of films to distribute from Des Moines. From that list she picks what to show as part of the midnight movie series. “We show the films about every four months.”

Rocky Horror Picture Show will be shown again Nov. 8 and 9 and Pink Floyd’s The Wall will be show Nov. 15.

The Wall is about Pink, played by Bob Geldof, a rock ‘n’ roll performer who sits locked in a hotel room in Los Angeles, victim of another music burn out.

(Want to read a review of Pink Floyd’s The Wall …

Pink Floyd “The Wall” (The Movie)

After The Wall Koach said, “Anything could be shown.” The midnight movie cost $3.00

If you like this blog or any of my other blogs, please check this book out:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)

Interviews with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Terry Pratchett, Mojo Nixon, Bobcat Goldthwait and many more…

Top 25 Road Songs

By Michael McCarty & Cindy McCarty

1.   “On The Road Again”  – Willie Nelson
2.     “Must Have Gotten Lost” – J. Geils Band
3.     (Tie)  “Pink Cadillac” – Bruce Springsteen & Aretha Franklin
4.     “Long Way Home” – Supertramp
5.     “Back on the Road Again” – REO Speedwagon
6.     “Helen Wheels” – Paul McCartney & Wings
7.     “Mama, I’m Coming Home” – Ozzy Osbourne
8.     “Drive” – The Cars
9. “Road To Nowhere” – The Talking Heads  
10.     “Drive My Car” – The Beatles
11.     “Traveling Band” – Creedence Clearwater Revival  
12.     (Tie)  “Route 66” – Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode & Bobby Troup
13.     “Crossroads” – Cream
14.     “Cars” – Randy Neuman
15.     “Highway 61 Revisited” – Bob Dylan
16.    “Cross Town Traffic” – Jimi Hendrix
17.    “Home Sweet Home” – Motley Crue
18.    “Fast Car” – Tracy Chapman
19.    “Little Deuce Coupe” – The Beach Boys
20.    “Little Red Corvette” – Prince
21.    “Long Way Home” – Norah Jones
22. . “Panama” – Van Halen
23. “They Call Me The Breeze” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
24. “Running On Empty” – Jackson Brown
25. “I Can’t Drive 55” – Sammy Hager

Honorable Mentions:

“Midnight Cruiser” – Steely Dan, “Heavy Metal, (Takin’ a Ride)” – Don Felder, “Born To Run” – Bruce Springsteen, “Life is a Highway” – Tom Cochrane, “Ventura Highway” – America and “She Loves My Automobile” – ZZ Top

Photo by Bruce Walters

If you like this blog or any of my blogs, please check these books:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)

Interviews with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Terry Pratchett, Mojo Nixon, Bobcat Goldthwait and many more…

LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE by Joe McKinney & Michael McCarty

(novella)

Lost Girl of the Lake by 2-time Bram Stoker Winner Joe McKinney & Five Time Bram Stoker Finalist Michael McCarty

Lake Livingston: August, 1961.

Mark Gaitlin is 15, the son of one of the wealthiest men in Texas, and on the most boring summer vacation of his life. His days are filled with the pomp and circumstance of country club life, while his nights are a parade of one embarrassment after another at the hands of giggling teenage girls.

But the piney woods above Lake Livingston are dark at night, and hold many secrets for an impressionable youngster on the cusp of becoming a man. And one night, after skinny dipping in the lake with a mysterious local girl, Mark Gaitlin’s life takes a crazy turn into the fire and brimstone religion of backwoods snake handlers and abandoned villages haunted by old family secrets. If he can survive the snakes and the ghosts and his own family’s dark history, he just might make it out of the woods alive

See less

The First Kiss: Or the first time I saw the band KISS

by Michael McCarty

A fan recently asked me about the first time I saw the band KISS and heard their song “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”

Back in junior high school, KISS was the bomb. They were the talk of the school. My friend Tim McLarnan talked about them constantly and kept bugging me to watch the HBO KISS concert. He had just seen them perform in Davenport at the RKO, I think the summer before.

Curious, I finally watched the KISS concert Tim told me about:

The music was loud. They shot fireballs into the air, spit blood, and rocked… and rocked… and rocked.

Photo edit: Mike McCarty & ChatGPT (OpenAI)

I can’t say I was a fan of their music at the time. That would come much later.

But I was a teenage horror nerd, and I loved the show.

Eventually, I watched KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, which I thought was a lot of fun. I also discovered Gene Simmons as a villain in Runaway—a film I highly recommend horror and sci-fi fans to check out.

Looking back, I think that was the appeal. Before I was a KISS fan, I was a fan of their spectacle. They were part rock band, part horror show, and part comic book come to life.

Interesting side note, the Quad Cities is mentioned a couple of times on the 1975 “Alive! Album. First with the “Live from Davenport” announcement as part of the show’s opening segment. And then Gene Simmons shouts, “C’mon Quad Cities on “Let Me Go, Rock N Roll.” It was from July 20, 1975, concert at the RKO Orpheum Theatre (now the Adler Theater) in Davenport, Iowa

As for the song, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You.” I liked it when it first came out. I know a lot of KISS fans may hate this cover, but
the French band Les Enfoires “Si on S’aimait” (sung of course in French), always makes me smile.

If you like this blog, please consider getting:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)

Interviews with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Terry Pratchett, Mojo Nixon, Bobcat Goldthwait, Koko Taylor and many more…

Coyote Ugly

By Michael McCarty

I received an email from a fan who had read WAITING FOR THE NIGHT.

“Hey Mike, I really enjoyed WAITING FOR THE NIGHT, especially the story ‘Red Rain.’ There are a couple of chapters with coyotes in them. What was the inspiration for that? And are you a fan of Wile E. Coyote?”

(Wile E. Coyote From The Road Runner Cartoons)

I glad you enjoyed the book. To answer the questions, I am going to start with second part. Yes, I am a fan of Wile E. Coyote of Chuck Jones’ Road Runner cartoons.

Many years ago, in the original publication of LAUGHING IN THE DARK by Michael McCarty (published by Damnation Books which is now out of print). Not to be confused with LAUGHING IN THE DARK by Michael McCarty (published by Evil Cookie, which is in print)

Anyway, the out of print edition had a story called “Wile E. Wanker and The Death by Chocolate Manufacturing Plant,” by Michael McCarty and Mark McLaughlin. It was our spoof of “Willy Wonka” movies, plus a nod at the Road Runner cartoons.

The first part of your question is a little more complex. I will try my best …..

(A photo of the coyote on the road)

Up to a few years ago, I never really had an opinion of coyotes one way or another. That changed when I was doing pest control. I was on the outsides of Davenport on a country road, the road was coming down really hard. There was a sign ahead, but the rain was so fierce, I couldn’t read.

The sign said something like

“Don’t drive when heavy rains”

This reason why, the dirt road quickly turns to mud you’ll get stuck. Which I did….

I had to call three tow trucks, because my truck was heavy and I was deep in the mud. I was stuck there for almost three hours.

But I was not alone.I had seen about half a dozen coyotes running out in the outskirts each had different animals in their mouths:

squirrels

rabbits

chickens

As a rabbit pet owner, I didn’t particularly like this. I didn’t feel I was in any danger myself. But I felt the neighborhood animals were.

When I was working on my short story collection WAITING FOR THE NIGHT with Terrie Leigh Relf.

I wrote a story called “Red Rain,” and since the edge of Davenport isn’t too far from Park View, I included coyotes in it.

So besides getting stuck in the mud, I got stuck with an idea about coyotes which I ended up using in “Red Rain.”

WAITING FOR THE NIGHT

by Michael L McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

Waiting for the Night is a short story collection with 12 terror tales featuring vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and skinwalkers written by Michael L McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

In the tale “Red Rain,” it’s raining in Iowa. There is nothing unusual about a deluge in the Hawkeye State, except this time the rain is as red as blood, and if a raindrop lands on your skin, the flesh is eaten away. The small town of Park View is stranded from the outside world and the red rain cuts off all communication from the rest of the world. Cell phones, landlines, and the internet all stop working. Then the power. It seems like doom. It seems like the end of the world. But then the rain stops and a sinister red fog creeps into town, and that is when the real terror begins. Stand-up comedians, bikers, pest control technicians, convenience store clerks, a retired wrestler, moms, students, and others try to survive the night from the red rain.

https://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Night-Michael-McCarty-ebook/dp/B0F4V9CDM

The Raven Revisited

By Edgar Allan Poe (with additional material by Bruce Walters & Michael McCarty)

(Edgar Allan Poe, born 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts – Photo by Bruce Walters)

CAST

 EDGAR ALLAN POE — solemn, dramatic, every word dipped in candlelight and tragedy.
 MICHAEL McCARTY — energetic, sly, with the timing of a stand-up comic and the twinkle of the undead.
THE RAVEN — silent, except for one croak at the end.

SETTING
A dim Victorian study. A single flickering candle on a desk.
A raven’s shadow looms above the door. Thunder murmurs faintly.

SOUND CUE:
Soft wind. Pages flutter. A low “tapping.”

POE
(Startled; rising from his chair)
Once upon a midnight dreary,
While I pondered—weak and weary—
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
Came a tapping—softly mocking—
Like a jester grimly knocking—
Knocking at my chamber door!

(He pauses. Another, louder knock.)
’Tis some critic, I reflected—
Come to wound my soul once more…

(He opens the “door” theatrically.)

The door swings wide —revealing!
by moonlight parted—
A spectral Michael McCarty
Bearing sixty books—perhaps a dozen more!

POE:
(Recoiling in dignified horror)
Sixty? Sixty!—Good heavens, man!
That’s more than anyone reads in a lifetime!
What unholy muse compels such output?

McCARTY:
Caffeine. Deadlines. And a few restless spirits.

(After a sigh, he continues with a grand gesture, a little puffed up)
Oh, I was once a stand-up comedian….

The Horror, the horror…

And here is one of my jokes. (Pulls out a notecard out of his jacket)

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Oops wrong notecard (throws it across the room. Pulls another notecard)

Why did the raven cross the road?

POE:

(Shrugs)

(Edgar Allen Poe Square in Boston – photo by Bruce Walters)

McCARTY:

To eat the carcass of a dead racoon.

POE:

That isn’t funny.

McCARTY:

No. But delicious eats for the raven. Although eating crow is funnier.

POE:
(Disbelieving, interrupts)
A comedian? In the company of ghosts?
Surely, sir, you jest!

McCARTY:
Always. Nothing scares Death more than a good punchline.

POE:
My dear McCarty… your tales—
Are they dreadful? Are they grim?
Do they curl the blood and chill the soul?

McCARTY:
Blood-curdling? My dear Poe—
They’re more blood-curdling
Than anything you or Lovecraft have written in decades!

POE:
(Archly)
Indeed… though we have been somewhat indisposed.

 Still—your words, I sense, conceal a truth.
The laugh and the scream… are twin-born things.

McCARTY:
I make them laugh while they scream—
and scream while they laugh.

POE:
(softly, with reluctant admiration)
A paradox most profound.
The macabre… made merry.
The dreadful… made divine.

(He turns to the audience.)
Attend, dear friends, and mark this art—
For here beneath the Raven that sits, still beguiling
above my chamber door…
Its eyes gleam red, though now smiling—

 The laughter echoes… evermore.

(Thunder rolls. Poe bows. The Raven croaks once—then silence.)

LIGHTING:
Both men freeze beneath the Raven’s silhouette.
Candle flickers out. Silence.

CURTAIN.

(Bruce Walters and Michael McCarty photos by Cindy McCarty)

EERIE IOWA
By Michael L McCarty & Bruce Walters.

The farmlands and rural areas of Iowa are no stranger to the weird, dark and mysterious. Learn about a terrestrial sighting from 1903, a creepy cryptid that terrorized the town of Van Meter. Find out about Bigfoot sightings in Calhoun County. Peer under the waters of Lake Okoboji to find a huge lake monster. Read the history of a frightening sculpture based on a story by Franz Kafka and hear a premonition that predicted a devastating fire. Five-time Bram Stoker Finalist author Michael McCarty and Professor Emeritus Bruce Walters forge a twisted path through shadowy, Gothic Iowa. Do you dare follow?

WAITING FOR THE NIGHT

By Michael McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

(Front & Back cover by Bruce Walters)

Waiting for the Night is a short story collection with 12 terror tales featuring vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and skinwalkers written by Michael L McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

In the tale “Red Rain,” it’s raining in Iowa. There is nothing unusual about a deluge in the Hawkeye State, except this time the rain is as red as blood, and if a raindrop lands on your skin, the flesh is eaten away. The small town of Park View is stranded from the outside world and the red rain cuts off all communication from the rest of the world. Cell phones, landlines, and the internet all stop working. Then the power. It seems like doom. It seems like the end of the world. But then the rain stops and a sinister red fog creeps into town, and that is when the real terror begins. Stand-up comedians, bikers, pest control technicians, convenience store clerks, a retired wrestler, moms, students, and others try to survive the night from the red rain.

INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE WRITER: OR THE INSPIRATION BEHIND MY FIRST NOVEL

By Michael McCarty

I worked on my first novel for 10 years. I read over 100 vampire books from the classics to contemporaries. I leaned on 4 books very heavily and kept going back to them over and over…. Interview With The Vampire and Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice, Shade by David Darke and I, Vampire by Michael Romkey.

All those and other books had a huge impact on my writing.

Strangely enough, the two people that really launched my novel inspiration into the stratosphere were David Baker and the great, late Randy Popp who let me host “KALA Presents The Arts.” I had interviewed people for years via newspapers or magazines … but live on air interviews was like walking on a tightrope without a net.

I took my year long stint of radio host and used it for the plotline of LIQUID DIET, where a vampire writer and vampire is interviewed on an all-night radio show.

LIQUID DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK owes so much to Anne Rice, David Darke, Michael Romkey, David Baker and Randy Popp. Many thanks to everyone!!!!

LIQUID DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK

by Michael McCarty

INTERLUDE WITH THE VAMPIRE …. OR INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE WRITER As the blood-red sun sets over the Chicago skyline real-life vampire, Andrew Bloodsworth makes his way into WOLF 99.9 FM, an all-night radio station hosted by the beautiful Bella Donna, Goth queen of the airwaves. As Bloodsworth reveals how he first became a vampire and the dark secrets and desires of the undead, listeners call in to talk to the undead writer. Most of the listeners are vampire and horror enthusiasts who are overjoyed to talk to a real life vampire, but OTTO-the Opposition To The Occult, a religious right-wing organization-is also listening to the radio show, and they’re not amused. If that wasn’t enough, tabloid TV host, Harry Winger, who features equally outrageous guests on his program, wants Bloodsworth to appear on his show. Plus, the Amazing Kreskin, the world’s foremost mentalist, has just had a premonition of imminent disaster. What will happen next? Tune in to find out!

Also check out my other vampire books ….

BITERS: Tales of Zombies & Vampires by Michael McCarty

They thrive in the shadows, hungry for blood, hungry for human flesh. BITERS, from 5-time Bram Stoker Finalist Michael McCarty, is a thrilling collection of 4 zombie stories and 4 vampire tales by a veteran author of over fifty books and numerous stories and works of nonfiction since the 1980s. Within these pages you will find excitingly original and macabre tales of biters of all sorts to make you shiver and even question your own sanity, featuring incredible special guest co-authors! Dare, if you will to enter the world of….BITERS! Stories include “The Glowing Dead,” “Dracula’s Daughter,” “Buried with Children,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and more. This collection presents author McCarty’s seasoned talent in a showcase of terror enough to thrill the most devout horror fan, as well as fans of the author!

THE BLOODLES TRILOGY by Michael L McCarty & Jody R. LaGreca
3 Books, 1 Price

Bloodless
Bloodlust
& Bloodline

Five-time Bram Stoker Award Finalist Michael McCarty and multi‑genre novelist Jody R. LaGreca join forces to create a dark, addictive vampire saga infused with horror, history, romance, and wickedly original twists. Together they bring you THE BLOODLESS TRILOGY—a series that spans decades, disasters, forbidden love, and the unbreakable bonds of an undead family.

BLOODLESS (Book 1)
Daniel Peck, a modern-day vampire over a century old, begins his cursed existence aboard the doomed Lusitania when the ancient and seductive Veronica—Queen of the Undead—claims him as her own. After surviving both the Lusitania and the Hindenburg, Daniel hides in plain sight as a middle school substitute teacher, feeding off the energy of four students and turning them into zombie-like thralls.

His lonely existence shifts when he meets Annie Julliard, a charming motel owner. Enchanted, Daniel transforms her into a rare white vampire and brings her—and his four thralls—into his strange, makeshift family. But with love comes chaos, and Daniel soon discovers that immortality only complicates everything…

BLOODLUST (Book 2)
The saga deepens as Daniel’s thirst for vengeance collides with secrets that stretch from Hollywood to the underworld. Bloodlust unveils the hidden truth behind Marilyn Monroe’s death, the mysteries of the Stardust Inn, and the volatile love triangle between Daniel, Annie, and Annie’s sister Vicki.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Ronald Barrett has spent over thirty years hunting Daniel for the murder of his mother. As Veronica pursues her own sinister agenda, Daniel is forced into a deadly game of loyalty, passion, and survival. This is no cookie‑cutter vampire tale—the Bloodless Series blends horror, history, and romantic suspense into a world unlike any other.

BLOODLINE (Book 3)
The swinging 1960s bring new temptations and old ghosts. Daniel rekindles a fiery romance with Georgia “Gigi” Carrington, a young artist whose blood—and beauty—are irresistible. Their affair burns hot, then collapses in a storm of heartbreak.

Now settled with Annie at the Stardust Inn, Daniel faces a new crisis when Annie’s infamous house—“Vampire Ville”—is threatened with repossession. Determined to save her home, Annie vows to turn “Wall Street into Blood Street,” even if it tears the family apart.

When Annie forces Daniel out, he reunites with Gigi after half a century apart, igniting a connection that leads to a shocking, blood‑soaked finale. The trilogy races toward an explosive conclusion that cements the Bloodless Series as a bold, unforgettable vampire saga.

Ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/BLOODLESS-TRILOGY-Vampire-Michael-McCarty-ebook/dp/B0GKFDJYWB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

Trade Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKVMKN7K?ref=sp_email

Hardcover:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKY8H9JS?

And Audio book too:

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-bloodless-trilogy/id1890129883

DRACULA TRANSFORMED

Co-written by Michael McCarty

Throughout history, people have been fascinated by the seductive allure of vampires. We read about them in books, watch stories about them on television and in movies — but do we know all there is to know about them? Of course not. These creatures of the shadows have kept their most shocking secrets hidden . . . until now.
Dracula Transformed & Other Bloodthirsty Tales features eleven vampire stories by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Mark McLaughlin and Bram Stoker Award finalist Michael McCarty. In these stories, they have unearthed many of the secrets of the bloodthirsty dead.

In the novella Dracula Transformed, Dracula is brought back from beyond the grave in a manner that gives him startling new powers. Using these powers, he begins a bloody campaign of vengeance. In Lucy Transformed, you will learn of the relationship between Dracula and his daughter Zaleska, as well as his growing fondness for Lucy Westenra — a fondness that will seal Lucy’s doom. Even more vampiric horror awaits you in the remaining nine tales.

RETURN OF THE SCREAM QUEEN by Michael L McCarty, Linnea Quigley & Stan Swanson

A profound and highly entertaining horror adventure and tribute to B-movies of a lost age.

Scream Queen Desiree Starr is tired of starring in one low budget horror movie after another, and with each passing film her wardrobe becomes skimpier and skimpier. Zyana, an Aztec queen who has returned from death for vengeance against those who deprived and decimated her long-ago empire, cares not who gets in her way.

Horror film cinema personality Desiree returns to Florida to film another horror movie, only to face the perilous ordeal of confronting the Aztec Queen. Mayhem, gore, sex, and an unimaginable assortment of carnage ensues, the likes of which only authors Michael McCarty, Scream Queen herself Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead), and Stan Swanson can write into a mind-blowing story that will totally mess you up!

“McCarty, Quigley, Swanson make one helluva good team. Their voices blend seamlessly to form a madcap romp through the B movie horrors we all love so much. Their plotting is as tight as a scream queen’s bikini, and their story every bit as titillating.” – Joe McKinney, legendary Bram Stoker award winner.

Bruce Walters on KALA FM

By Michael McCarty

Bruce Walters went on KALA FM to talk about EERIE IOWA by Michael McCarty and Bruce Walters. It runs for 30 minutes. A lot of ground is covered, fascinating interview.

Check it out at:

Bruce Walters holding the other EERIE book EERIE QUAD CITIES by Michael McCarty and John Brassard Jr. Bruce took some great photos in that book too

Eerie Iowa
By Michael L McCarty & Bruce Walters

Witness the Darker Side of the Hawkeye State

The farmlands and rural areas of Iowa are no stranger to the weird, dark and mysterious. Learn about a terrestrial sighting from 1903, a creepy cryptid that terrorized the town of Van Meter. Find out about Bigfoot sightings in Calhoun County. Peer under the waters of Lake Okoboji to find a huge lake monster. Read the history of a frightening sculpture based on a story by Franz Kafka and hear a premonition that predicted a devastating fire. Five-time Bram Stoker Finalist author Michael McCarty and Professor Emeritus Bruce Walters forge a twisted path through shadowy, Gothic Iowa. Do you dare follow?

I Like Big Blogs I Cannot Lie

14 Years of Blogging

by Michael McCarty

Actually this is a small blog. So I guess I am lying…

LOL

(A photo of me by Charles Dickens’ sons grave at Riverside Cemetery in Moline, Illinois. Photo by Joyce Godwin Grubbs. I was going to use it originally for my book GHOSTS OF THE QUAD CITIES. But couldn’t find it in time for the deadline)

I’ve been blogging on this blogsite now for 14 years, May 2012 is when this all began …

Here is the link to to my blog about blogs, it tells the complete story …..  

10 Years Of Blogging

(Tristan Tapscott and Michael McCarty on Living Local’s ‘Creepy Quad Cities,’ a 4-part series that featured EERIE QUAD CITIES by Michael McCarty and John Brassard Jr.)

If you read the 10 years of blogging blog, I went into the blogs kicking and screaming. But ended up loving doing them.

As of date:

260 blogs (I actually published something like 270, but accidentally deleted 10 of them because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing)

My blogs were viewed in 120 countries, a lot of the countries, I haven’t even heard of, the top 10 are:

United States

United Kingdom

Canada

Ireland

Australia

Germany

Brazil

France

Sweden

Spain

(Michael McCarty researching QUAD CITIES BEER: A HISTORY with Kristin DeMarr. Photo by Kristin DeMarr)

To date:

36,000 views

from 28,000 visitors

200 likes

88 comments

39 subscribers. I wish I had more subscribers. If you want to pay, that is great. But all 39 are freebies. Pay or freebie … it is all good with me.

Lastly at first, I only had a few people who read my blogs on a regularly — my mother, Joyce Godwin Grubbs and Brad Heden. My mom and Joyce passed away. And Brad just dropped off the radar.

Anyway, I’d like to thank all of your for reading these blogs. I’ve had many, many other authors and publishers say, “why waste your time writing blogs, people don’t buy your books from blogs.”

I write to keep in touch with my fans, family and friends.

But if you want to buy a book too:

ESOTERIA-LAND

by Michael McCarty

The reason I’ve kept these blogs alive. The book hasn’t sold that well, but it also a few. Here is the info:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)