10p043: You Beautiful Weirdos
While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise, And our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts, They still think they're the gods of antiquity
Hey Ho, Tenebrous Cult!
The folks that make up our core following–the ones who trust what we publish and seem to buy up everything we do, sight unseen–are a delightfully Weird bunch.
Now, I mean that in the most complimentary way; we’re a Weird publisher, after all.
We have a regular in Europe who orders two of every Deluxe package every launch date; a couple times this year I made sure to send them a bonus envelope with as many goodies as possible in it, as a means of encouraging their steady descent into madness show of our gratitude.
We have a 10pCultist in the Midwest who asks to buy virtually every piece of art we publish on a tank top…even the ones that we haven’t, or don’t, ever intend to make shirts for. And I do my best to accommodate them, because hell, the fact that we inspire such devotion in anybody gives me the grit to run straight through a brick wall.
These Deluxe packages–the shirts and patches; the stickers and art prints and postcards and bookmarks and various other swag–are all shipped from my cramped-as-f&%k home office; 10p Central, as it were. And would you believe that in the roughly two-and-a-half years we’ve been doing this Tenebrous thing, despite occasional shipping delays and “supply chain disruptions” galore, not a single person has ever reached out to us in anger? We once had a package that crisscrossed the U.S. from New York to Oregon seven times before finally arriving where it was supposed to be in the first place, and the worst that happened was some off-color jokes between the buyer and myself about the glories of the U.S. Postal Service.
And do we melt down and have a war of words, as if this were the Ende Times, like we might if we were on Twitter/X? No. Never.
Because we speak the same language. The language of New Weird Horror, delivered by voices you may not have heard before. And because y’all are the f&%king best, quite honestly. You’ve been exceedingly kind to us all year long; and as we approach the conclusion of this madcap, crazy-ambitious year, we pledge to continue doing the same to you. You love Indie Horror; you love The Weird; and you love quality work. We’re gonna continue giving you those things for a long, long time.
Tenebrous Editor-in-Chief Alex Woodroe and I are currently wrapping up a week of meetings where we’ve been strategizing not just the entirety of 2024, but into 2025 as well; more novels and novellas, new projects different from anything we’ve done so far, and lemme tell ya…
…wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s still 2023! And there are a couple things left to shove into your grubby Weird little hands this calendar year, including one last Deluxe preorder package that only has a few days left:
LUMBERJACK DELUXE PACKAGE PREORDERS CLOSE IN FIVE DAYS
If you have designs on grabbing a copy of Anthony Engebretson’s murderous retro-Eco Noir, LUMBERJACK, with all the bells and whistles, you’re running out of time to do it, and we only have a handful left!
What are those bells and whistles, you ask? The LUMBERJACK Deluxe Package features:
LUMBERJACK softcover copy
LUMBERJACK eBook (PDF, ePub & mobi versions)
Exclusive LUMBERJACK t-shirt or tank top; featuring art by Jonathan LaMantia and design by Alex Woodroe on a navy blue high quality shirt
3.5" x 3" canvas patch, exclusive to this preorder
Exclusive vinyl sticker, bookmark and swag
Here’s Alex rockin’ this badass tank in the wild:
LUMBERJACK author Anthony Engebretson wanted to share a few words with you about this incredibly unsettling novella:
Of all the books and stories I’ve written or am planning to write, LUMBERJACK is thus far the strangest and darkest. It’s one of those concepts that nobody else could have come up with.
I hope that doesn’t seem like an arrogant statement—I don’t know who would want to come up with this concept. The story was developed from histories and experiences I’m personally or geographically connected to, spattered with a healthy dose of in-jokes, all brought together into a brutal concoction.
I’m proud of this little book, and also a little frightened of it. I’m happy Tenebrous decided to give it a chance. I remember thinking, ‘If Tenebrous doesn’t publish this book, I don’t know who the hell will.’ It’s a perfect match. We come together like an axe in a tree.
We do indeed. This book is deranged in all the best ways.
About LUMBERJACK:
Nebraska, 1901.
There’s a curse on Arbor Lodge—an elusive demon reclaiming the illustrious home in the name of the prairie—and its owner, J. Sterling Morton, proud statesman, is desperate.
It couldn’t be more fortuitous for lumberjack Neville, whose greatest desire is to prove himself a true man to the world. Morton offers respect, security, pride, even the father figure Neville never had; and all the lumberjack has to do is find and kill this creature.
There’s no doubt in Neville’s mind that he deserves to rise to the status of legend. He will prevail. It’s in his blood.
Or else, his blood will be in the prairie.
Cover art and interior illustrations by Jonathan LaMantia.
LUMBERJACK is out everywhere December 5th. A limited number of the Deluxe preorder packages are available until November 21st.
SOONER STILL: THANK YOU FOR JOINING THE ALGORITHM ARRIVES NEXT WEEK
Just this week, Alex and I have had conversations with two (make that…more, as of press-time) other indie publishers facing the new unsettling reality: AI art is not only being utilized by creatively bankrupt thieves, but a small group of experienced artists who should know better, who have sacrificed their morals and embraced the appropriation of others’ hard work.
This should be depressing. I mean, it is rather depressing. But we don’t have to accept it as the new “way things are”. This is just a speed bump. True art will win.
One way we will win is through sheer will and holding the line against this brand of theft. ‘Cuz when it boils down to it, AI art just looks creatively lifeless, craven and dead on the page. It’s garbage; I’m sorry, AI thieves may argue otherwise, but it’s true.
Another way we will win? By all of us continuing to support Human Creators with intent.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING THE ALGORITHM, the Zero Issue of Tenebrous’ upcoming magazine (more on that soon!) is a collection of Sci-Horror Fiction, Comics, Poetry and Weird Forms, and proceeds go to the Algorithmic Justice League and the European Guild of Artificial Intelligence Regulation to help support Creators’ Rights in this ongoing battle for the very literal soul of art.
Wanna take a peek at the gorgeous work performed by Alex, Project Editor Cameron Howard, Designer Braulio Tellez, and many, many other Fine Humans?
THANK YOU FOR JOINING THE ALGORITHM is out November 21st; preorder it here:
We’ll likely be phasing out the bells-and-whistles Deluxe preorder packages for every single release next year, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be downshifting in quality in any capacity. In fact, as I mentioned above, we’ve got two (wait: three?) distinctly new avenues we’ll be careening down in 2024. We’ll tell you more about them next time.
But before we go:
Fun fact reminder: when you buy direct from Tenebrous, the eBook is always included free. And when you preorder–from us, from any of your favorite indie presses–you’re investing in the longevity of non-commercial, artistically diverse work.
We’re gonna close out 2023 with a bang, and rock you even harder next year.
Hail New Weird Horror.
Hail Indie Publishing.
Hail the Tenebrous Cult, and all you Weird, Mad F&%kers. We love you.
Matt & Alex
Looks great!