Horror in Western Novels? Gunslinger's Head Explodes… with Style

BISBEE, Ariz. - Nov. 19, 2013 - PRLog -- Horror novels get read. If you're a big name in the genre, such as Stephen King or Clive Barker, people will clamor to read what you've written, even if it's only the ingredients on a cereal box, possibly in hopes of finding a serial killer lurking between the lines.

Say Western-Horror, however, and you may be met with indifference or even dismissal. Try to name the Top Ten Western-Horror movies and you may be lucky to fill each slot. List the notable Western-Horror works in genre fiction and perhaps King's Dark Tower series may be the only name recalled.

P. K. Vandcast hopes to eliminate that problem by introducing smart, historical western fiction with fresh, insightful and chilling horror.

"Western-Horror genre fiction is a frontier all its own," says Vandcast, author of "Bloodlust" and "Beelzebub" from the Jonas Cane, U.S. Marshal series.

As a new author, Vandcast has embraced the challenge of pioneering a new frontier in Western-Horror because he believes the audience is out there, they just may not be aware of the genre.

With two novellas in the genre already receiving rave reviews on Amazon.com, Vandcast's next book will be out in paperback and eBook in time for Christmas, Twistical Tales: A Wild West Horror Story. Momentarily departing from his current series, this book is a full length novel that combines contemporary horror with the Wild West and Contemporary West. Sign up for email updates at http://vandcast.com.

Vandcast explains, "Western-Horror has been around since cinema began but in the past it's been so campy that our challenge as writers is to get some quality material in front of a western or horror audience that doesn't automatically dismiss the book as the same old 'wanted: undead or alive' stuff; you know, westerns with ghosts, zombies, vampires or werewolves thrown in willy-nilly. My goal is for my audience to enjoy a good scare in the Wild West, not scare them off altogether."

His second book, Jonas Cane, U.S. Marshal: Beelzebub is a serial teaser, and available at no charge at Smashwords.com by going to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/370586  --and yes, an outlaw's head explodes in this one.