Petition the White House...

...to Act on Gun Laws. More so and more so, it seems it is the fearful and madmen who most vocally argue the right to bear arms. The longer the debate goes on, I am beginning to find a sickening irony in my beloved nation’s claim of being a melting pot. We are becoming a stew of mad fear…a meal of no nutritional value in this regard. I can see the side of those who do not want to change the gun laws in the US. Further, I can concede understanding how gun advocates see our most recent tragedy’s outrage as knee-jerk and reactionary. It is a sad day in our grand experiment when the actions of a solitary madman can lead us to throw away the very rights and privileges that helped found our nation. I see and appreciate that. I’m the last who wants liberty to give way to fear, to wake to find us falling overs ourselves in some panicked dash from potential danger, and this so much so that we trip blindly from the independent spirit that saved us once from tyranny only to flip headlong into the unknown arms of legislation that could be nothing more than another briar patch of oppression. At the same turn, I am too broken, too angry now, to idly watch on as fools arm themselves to the teeth against threats imagined. I will not remain silent as my flesh and blood may be falling deeper into harm’s way as a result of a neighbor’s fear and delusion. I will not trust John Q. Public next door over my elected government. Dysfunctional as that government may be at times, it is not nearly as capable of being as damaged as a single man, a man such as the one who just an hour from my home killed all those children the same age as my own boy who was enjoying his day in kindergarten that morning as were those sons and daughters at Sandy Hook. This single event, this solitary madman, he has struck now one time too many. In this hour I know who I fear more and who I trust more. I fear the fool with an arsenal. I trust my government. Or, at least, I’m trying to. I want to see us, as a nation, find a compromise. Legal and reasonable gun ownership for those citizens that prove they are worthy and capable of holding that power and privilege. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/immediately-address-issue-gun-control-through-introduction-legislation-congress/2tgcXzQC

KIRKUS REVIEWS did me the honor of naming my novel Cicada among their "Best Indie Books of 2012." So of course I'm going to mention where you can find it on Amazon: CICADA

Fellow author and friend of the blog, Winston Emerson, who I can't praise and recommend highly enough, is running a Kickstarter campaign to...well, just read for yourself here. Please do check it out and throw some support if you can. He's a helluva talent and the new project, The Object, is exceptional.

Available now on AMAZON.

Murder, sex, magic, and ancient Rome. A serial killer preys upon those who are truly the most dangerous game…the gladiators. As the killer collects macabre trophies, it falls to the Prefect of the Night Watch to end the madness. But this is Rome, where blood spills like wine, and dreams…they are all too often nightmares. Available here and also on Kindle. Edited by Dan Hauer danhauereditorial.com dlhauer@gmail.com

New Site

I have a new site which will serve as a virtual billboard for my novels. So then, I'll be keeping it nice and clean. I hope you like and will help me spread the word!

J. Eric Laing

Also, I have parted ways with Night Publishing and will be striking out on my own. Here's wishing all my friends at Night wonderful success.

Cicada named New and Notable!

Thank you, you amazingly insightful folks at Kirkus!

HUZZAH!

Now, who does a fella have to buy lunch for to get one of those lovely circled stars? No appettizers, two rounds of drinks, but not too top shelf. I'm still aspiring over here, after all.

The WIP

Blood, sex, magic...and Ancient Rome

A serial killer hunts the streets of Ancient Rome preying on what is truly the most dangerous game...the gladiators. As the killer collects macabre trophies, it falls to the Prefect of the Night Watch to end the horror.

Coming this summer!

Seeping closer

The details are done...oh, but there was a lot of devil in 'em.

My second novel, Seep is HERE!

Special thanks to S.C. Thompson for assisting with the cover art.

My Kirkus Reviews Review

CICADA

Tragedy befalls a small town in the 1950s Deep South when the Klu Klux Klan’s arrival coincides with an unraveling of long-held family secrets.

A suicide gunshot rattles the humid air in this bleak but often beautifully crafted tale of cultural strife in the Southern town of Melby. During one particularly sweltering summer, the Sayre family tries to cope with the stifling heat. Since the childhood death of his brother, farmer John Sayre has held a terrible secret, one that comes to bear on his marriage, his status in town and his relationship with his young son, Timothy. [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS] Frances Sayre fears her husband has taken up with the Klan, [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS]. Her discovery, Buckshot’s secretiveness and the increasing boldness of the town’s bigots and its reprehensible minister all sit heavy in the uneasy, oppressive heat. The cicadas incessantly hum in ominous chorus. Everyone is being watched: [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS], the gravedigger sees visitors to the lynched man’s grave, the mockingbirds eye the old family cat in the last hours of its life. The town’s animals, wild or domesticated, play as big a part as any of the well-drawn characters in the tragedy. Nature’s cruelty—and occasionally, its beauty—foreshadow and echo the townspeople’s wicked acts. Only beautiful Cicada remains a mystery. Like the female cicada, she causes the frenzied men to buzz and drone around her in hopes of attracting her bewitching affection.

Be sure to read this steamy Southern noir in the A/C.

See the whole shebang here