Author and Press Owner, Kevin Strange

One of the best new voices in Bizarro, Kevin Strange joins me today to talk about his new book, VAMPIRE GUTS IN NUKETOWN for free. Alright mister Strange, how about telling us about your new book.

A lot of people are saying it reinvented the vampire. I don't claim to be nearly as ambitious as that. I was just trying to write a really fun, conan-esque apocalyptic bizarro book that just happens to be about giant mutated batlike dudes with psychic powers. I will say that it was an absolute blast to write, and takes inspiration from ultra violent video games like Splatter House and Nightmare Creatures. It's bloody, sexy, extreme adventure. I don't recommend it for the faint of heart or easily offended.

Pure awesomesauce! Now, you seem to be very knowledgable in the Bizarro genre, how about telling us what it is about the genre that draws you in, and your thoughts of where it's going in the horror field.

I started my artistic career as a writer and director of obscure cult movies. Bizarro fiction is often compared to Troma and John Waters movies. When I started out making movies, I was emulating those kinds of films as well. There exists a micro budget film genre that I've seen called “Porno Horror” or just horror/comedy, cult horror, or whatever. There are quite a few dudes doing it now, but back in the early 2000s, we were few and far between. Eventually I grew extremely weary of all the bullshit that goes into making movies for budgets of less than 1000 dollars, and turned my sights to fiction.

At first, I had no clue that the Bizarro genre even existed. I'd grown up in the splatterpuk era with authors like Clive Barker and Poppy Z. Brite killing and fucking their way through books, but all with a serious, dark tone. I wrote fiction like that, too, at first. But the over-the-top satirical nature of my movies was calling for me to include it in my fiction. I'd never read anything like that before around 2010, honest to god. I didn't think it existed. I thought that somehow, my kind of bizarro storytelling method just didn't translate well into fiction, or the market was so small for something that like, that I was basically on my own.

It was while scanning through books on Amazon that I came across the book “John Dies at the End” which has connected to it in the “Customers also bought” section a slew of bizarro books. I was elated as I surfed through book after book with amazingly offensive covers and titles. The descriptions of the books were essentially the same as I'd have on the back of my DVD cases. I'd been writing bizarro fiction for years and didn't even know it. I've sense written two novels and countless short stories in the bizarro genre and have never looked back. I champion bizarro anytime I can get someone to listen. I love this shit.

So, you're the man behind Strangehouse Books Press, tell us about it? 

Once I became aware of the bizarro genre and saw what I think is its limitless potential, I decided to forgo the mind numbing and years long process of trying to work my fiction into a publisher's hands by starting a publishing house of my own, featuring a mash up of my favorite genres, Lovecraftian Horror, Splatter Punk (now called Hardcore Horror for some reason), and my new found love: bizarro. Our goal is to serve up some of the best genre fiction in today's volatile, ever changing literary environment through aggressive marketing, sheer tenacity, and endless touring. So far, 14-15 months in, I think we're doing an awesome fucking job so far.

SBP seems to be picking up a steam, any hints of what's to come?

We've always got something new coming out. Our next book is an anthology mash up of Lovecraftian bizarro stories. Really whacked out stuff. I can't wait to put this book out. It's got some of the most imaginative stuff I've ever read concerning Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos including one of my favorite stories I've ever written, called Mchumans. I just released an apocalyptic bizarro novel that I guess attempts to re-invent the vampire called, Vampire Guts in Nuke Town. That wasn't exactly my conscious intention, but I've been told my take on vampire lore is pretty unique. Beyond that, check out our website, www.strangehousebooks.com and see what we've got out and what's coming out soon. If you love weird, you won't be disappointed.

Awesome having you here, Kevin!

Guts is a bad motherfucker in a bad, bad world. The government nuked the sky ten years ago to combat a super fast spreading virus that turns humans into blood thirsty, ravenous killing machines that look more like giant, mutated bats than people. 

The new sky kills these "vampires" instantly, but at a cost. The entire planet is slammed with mega-high doses of radiation every time the sun comes up, completely changing life on earth as we know it, and completely decimating what little civilization there is left. 

In Nuke Town, Guts wakes up in a strange motel with no memory of how he got there. A brother and sister duo are the only two humans in sight, but are they friend or foe? As the paranoia sets in, and Guts begins to understand the true implications of a nest of sophisticated, mutated vampires, he must use all the cunning and skills that his years in the wasteland have taught him if he hopes to survive the horror that awaits him in ... VAMPIRE GUTS IN NUKETOWN!