by Sal Conte aka E. Van Lowe
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Hi everyone.
As much as I hate being the bearer of bad news, unfortunately I have to be. I’m going to tell you the truth about a man some of you have come to love—E. Van Lowe.
As some of you may know, my career started long before E’s. I wrote the horror novel Child’s Play back in 1981. I followed it with The Power, a few years later. My books were selling well. E seemed really happy for me.
Then one day he came home and told me he’d gotten the dream job, the start of a dream career. He landed a writing gig at Universal television. He was going to be writing TV shows. I knew E had been trying to get into TV for some time. I was happy for him. I was so happy that I said “Let’s go out and celebrate.”
It was late afternoon when we took that long drive out the Pacific Coast Highway. The setting sun glistening off the ocean was so beautiful. E pulled the car alongside a deserted stretch of road and said “Let’s take a walk on the beach.” I should have known there was something amiss. E is not is not a big fan of the ocean. But, I figured it was a celebration. He just wanted to stand on the beach, enjoy the sunset and bask in his glory. Didn’t realize he meant it to be my sunset.
We took our shoes off and walked out to the water’s edge. The surf nibbled at my toes. It was a moment of triumph. I was a successful author of gruesome horror, and my pal had finally gotten his break in TV. That’s when E said: “It ends here, Sal.”
“You mean the days of eating top ramen for dinner every night?” I asked smiling.
“Yes. But more than just that. It all ends here. YOU end here.”
I was flabbergasted, at a loss for words. I was E’s alter ego, the one with the cajones to get him this far. He could not have hung in there long enough to land that TV gig without me at his side.
“I’m leaving you here, Sal,” he said. “We had a good run together, but I’m starting a new life, and there’s no room for horror in that life. I’m a comedy writer now. See ya.”
I watched as E turned around and headed back to the car, leaving me standing there, my toes in the soup. That was 25 years ago. E went on to have a very exciting career writing TV and film. Then six months ago a knock came at his door. “Hi, E, how’ve you been?” This time it was him who was flabbergasted.
I will spare you the gory details of the big fight. All you need to know is, I won. Despite what E has been telling everyone, Sal Conte is not dead--far from it. In fact, I’m back with my very own page on E’s website, and some brand new horror to shock your heart and scare the bejesus out of you. First off, I am rereleasing (for Kindle only) my 1980s horror classic Child’s Play. Not the lame-ass Chucky movie, but the original Child’s Play. I am also releasing (Kindle only again—sorry) a brand new short story, The Toothache Man, both in time for Halloween. Check out the playful yet gruesome cover I chose.
Neato, right? The price is right, too. So if you like good horror you need to check me out. E is hoping that you won’t, that you’ll leave me to die the slow death he had planned for me. But I know that everyone has a dark side, and what better way to serve that dark side than by reading a gruesome horror story. Right? Prove E wrong. Don’t leave me here to die… again.
~end
Guest post created for September Zombies event by Sal Conte aka E. Van Lowe, author of The Toothache Man
© 2011. All rights reserved.
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by E. Van Lowe
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BE on the lookout...
by Sal Conte
Paperback release date: Spring 2012
FIND OUT more about Sal Conte and his upcoming releases here.
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