conducted by Anthony Servante
Rage Against the Night (2011)
Ebook By Shane Jiraiya Cummings
Published By Brimstone Press
“Under the onslaught of supernatural evil, the acts of good people can seem insignificant, but a courageous few stand apart. These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil.
“Rage Against the Night features the megastars of dark fantasy and horror—including Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Nicholson, Nancy Holder, Sarah Langan, and many, many more.
“All proceeds will be donated to Rocky Wood, author and President of the Horror Writers Association, who is battling motor neurone disease.”
When I heard about Rage Against the Night, I wanted to review the book, but this was not just any book that warranted a critical review as if it required an opinion on its literary merit. This book was more about fundraising, and its success was not based on its stories or if the stories met a standard of performance or degree, but on meeting a goal, and that is to help a fellow member of the Horror community in his time of need.
As such, I decided to interview Rocky Wood, and via my book giveaway program, Read THIS! Scaring Up Readers, purchase 20 copies of the book to give to a group of students who in turn would write a note of appreciation to share with Rocky.
Amazon.com is not making this easy, however. I have to purchase 20 individual copies of the ebook and send it to each student’s email address one at a time. I contacted Amazon and asked if there were an easier way to purchase multiple copies of the book. They suggested that I open a dummy account, purchase a copy of the book through the account, and in this way, I can send out six books, one at a time, instead of 20 books, one at a time. In other words, the answer was no, there is no easy way to buy multiple copies.
So, I will be buying individual copies until every student has one emailed to them. Then I will gather the students’ notes of thanks and forward them to Rocky, whose response to the students is in the interview below. If my timing is right, by the time this issue of The Black Glove is out, the students can read Rocky’s response to their notes.
The Interview:
Anthony Servante: When did you find out that Rage Against the Night was being compiled on your behalf and were you surprised by the number of authors contributing to the cause?
Rocky Wood: I guess mid-last year, when Shane Jiraiya Cummings approached me to see if I would agree to him compiling the anthology to raise help raise funds for the Eye-Gaze machine, which will be my lifeline as the ALS/Motor Neurone Disease progresses. I am not surprised by so many fine horror writers wanting to help, as I have learned horror is one of the most generous communities of any type anywhere in the world. I am however, deeply humbled. To have literary heroes donate a story to help me out leaves me quite literally speechless. All these authors are fine people.
Anthony: Has the effort of so many fellow writers buoyed your spirits as well as your fundraising?
Rocky: It certainly has. It can be hard work going through a process where there is no hope of avoiding dying. Hundreds of people have done things for me, big or small, that every day help make that journey easier. So many writers have donated books for auctions and helped in many ways other than the anthology, to have your colleagues come to your aid is certainly a boost, and one I can and do use to help keep me sane!
Anthony: Twenty students will have a copy of RATN next Sunday or the Sunday after. I’ll send you a photo. What would you like to tell these 15 to 17 year olds?
Rocky: I guess I'd like to tell them to read every day. Reading feeds the soul and your humanity. I am sure there are many good people who don't read but there sure are lots of good people who do! You can learn something for almost anything you read and even if it's only entertainment, the pool of great books and stories is almost infinite.
Anthony: I will personally see to it that each of the students sends you a note about the book via my email. I’ll forward them to you.
Rocky: Many thanks - appreciate all your help.
Anthony: Thanks for your time. We’ll talk again soon.
The Black Glove and I thank you, dear readers, for your attention to this important subject. Here are other books Rocky Wood has for sale that can be purchased:
Stephen King: A Literary Companion by Rocky Wood, now shipping from Amazon
Horrors! Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators by Rocky Wood, illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne now shipping from Amazon; or direct from available from McFarland
Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished (Third Edition) in an Updated and Expanded ebook
Stephen King: The Non-Fiction by Rocky Wood and Justin Brooks ebook
and his next work will be:
Witch Hunts! A Graphic History of the Burning Times with Lisa Morton, illustrated by Greg Chapman
--Anthony Servante
(Be sure to stop by Rocky's MySpace page and wish him well, leave some get well message and some encouragement. Living with any disease is sometimes a lonely ordeal; it helps when you know that people do care. Be someone who cares.)
