Bram Stoker Award Winner…
Tom Deady’s HAVEN Wins Horror Writers Bram Stoker Award.
Thoughts on Tom Deady’s HAVEN: Artistry, Laughter & How Others Perceive Us…
It’s a Saturday matinee in the Strand Odeon Theatre and we’re watching THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD. I’m 13. With friends. And I’m captivated. Watching Captain Sinbad and his crew sail those blue seas and explore strange green, sandy islands. Wishing I was there with them.
Now they’re in the Valley of the Cyclops. A cyclops appears. The girls in the audience start screaming. The boys stare in awe. And when the cyclops captures one of Sinbad’s crewmen and happily ties the guy to a BBQ spit to cook him over the open fire for supper, I clapped my hands in delight. Wonderful! I loved it. Why not? The cyclops is hungry and doing what comes naturally — later, Sinbad’s men will find a giant Roc’s newly hatched chick and, being hungry, kill it and cook it for their supper.
Why did I laugh?
I loved the creative artistry behind the scene — knew that Ray Harryhausen was having a ball. So was the hungry Cyclops. A few years later I would really laugh at the scene where Jason watches those eager skeleton warriors pop from the ground…
Maybe it’s because I was never afraid of things hiding under my bed. I thought of those Universal Studios characters, especially Frankenstein’s Monster and the Wolfman, as the heroes. Misunderstood. Misperceived. Boris Karloff’s Monster especially was the ultimate Outsider Hero.
I watched those old black and white movies with empathy, understanding and warm laughter. Thought of the Abbott & Costello monster movies and THE MUNSTERS as the culmination of the whole genre.
So when the Horror genre went really bloody, I stopped watching. Didn’t see it as as an evolutionary step — rather a loss of its heart. When the monsters became the bad guys, I felt the genre had died.
Stephen King has always been an exception for me. Probably because in many ways he’s been the prose chronicler of our Boomer Generation (along with Terry Pratchett) — in the way that the Singer-Songwriters have been our poets.
Not that I’ve given up hope. Still follow the Horror genre. Still am waiting for the real monsters to wake up. To come back home.
In Tom Deady’s HAVEN, Paul Greymore, just released from prison, remembers the accident when as “a toddler he had reached up and grabbed the handle of a pot on the stove… the water scorched his face. When the doctors finished, his face looked like a melted candle… later Paul would see a likeness of himself in a movie called A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
Just an ordinary guy with the role of Freddy Krueger forced upon him. Boris Karloff’s Monster may be gone, but we still live among peasants with flaming torches — looking for someone to chase. Someone who is not one of them. Someone they can call Outsider.
That scene reminded me of those long-ago Universals. And a favourite novel from my youth: Andre Norton’s NIGHT OF MASKS.
It’s the story of an innocent man, one of us.
So…
Tom Deady took home a Bram Stoker Award® for his debut horror novel, HAVEN, late Saturday night, April 29, at the StokerCon Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet. The award for superior achievement in a first novel has been around for 30 years, establishing the leading authors in the horror genre.
Tom wrote HAVEN over the course of fifteen years. It was published in 2016 by Cemetery Dance Publications and quickly recommended and nominated for the Bram Stoker Awards®. The novel takes place in a small town in Massachusetts and explores many dark layers of horror and humanity.
“As a writer, I should be able to express my joy at receiving the Stoker Award, but I simply cannot put it into words. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work and incredible support. I am honored to be recognized by the HWA [Horror Writers Association] and blessed that my wife and daughters were on hand to celebrate the moment with me,” says Deady.
As Rio Youers, author of “Westlake Soul” and “Point Hollow,” has written, “HAVEN is about scars, both literal and figurative; it’s about second chances and broken memories. This is a great small-town horror novel — a bullet-read with deep characters and perfect pacing. Best of all, it’s creepy as hell.” —
Tom Deady has already released another novel earlier this year, “Eternal Darkness.”
It’s a vampire horror reminiscent of the paperback horror days in sense of style and dread. He promises at least one more release in 2017 and says there are big plans in store. Rumors have also surfaced about a young adult novel in the works. One thing’s for sure, Tom Deady isn’t slowing down. He assures us the Stoker win has only fueled his passion and drive for the craft.
“Completing HAVEN has unlocked some creative vault inside me. The ideas and stories demand to be put to paper, and I’m doing my best to keep pace. My first novella will be released in September, and I promise it is unlike anything I’ve written to date. I also have a few short stories that should hit this year, and the rumors of a young adult work — possibly a series — are true! Stay tuned for more on that,” says Tom Deady.
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
ABOUT: Tom Deady is the Bram Stoker Awards® winning author of HAVEN and “Eternal Darkness.” He lives in Holliston, Massachusetts, with his wife. Tom has a Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University, and is a member of both the Horror Writers Association and the New England Horror Writers.
Tom’s first novel, HAVEN, was released in 2016 by Cemetery Dance Publications. His new release, “Eternal Darkness,” was released in 2017 by Bloodshot Books. As always, he is actively working on his next novel. Learn more at TomDeady.com.
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Posted: May 3, 2017.
Title: Tom Deady’s HAVEN Wins Horror Writers Bram Stoker Award.
Keywords: book report, book review, Bram Stoker Award, Haven, Horror Writers, Horror Writers Association, HWA, Stephen King, StokerCon Bram Stoker, Terry Pratchett, Tom Deady.
