Greetings, faithful readers!
Another month has come and gone. Hard to believe that a fourth of the year is already in the history books. Guess the old saying about “time flies when you’re having fun” is true after all. March, 2011, was full of interviews, signings, and work, work, work. So without further ado, here’s a quick recap / status update…
The month began with not one but two glowing reviews of my debut novel, The Wide Game. The first was from Sheri Jenkins White at Xomba Horror:
The second was from Horror-Web :
“4.5 out of 5 Stars…The Wide Game got me right in the fear center of my lizard brain. Michael West’s story telling style takes me back to the glory days when horror spoke in the voice of the boy next door and had me looking over my shoulder when I went out in the dark. His low-key, unobtrusive style lulls you into a comfort zone and then he zaps you with big-time scary.”
In addition to reviews by critics, I continued to get emails, messages, and Amazon reviews from you, the readers. Nothing is more rewarding for me than to know that you enjoy my work. Thank you for taking the time to write me and Amazon, and keep those messages and reviews coming!
Then on Thursday, March 10th, I signed copies of The Wide Game and my short story collection, Skull Full of Kisses, at the IUPUI Campus Center Barnes & Noble. This was my first in-store book signing, and I was pleased to see so many of my faithful readers from Indianapolis there!
Thank you all for making it such a success!
I did two interviews in March and both were published online. The first was with Ambrotos Press, the new Horror imprint of Dark Quest Books (Read all about it here), and the second was with Ryan Thomason of Watch Play Read ( Read it here). We discussed The Wide Game, my deal with Seventh Star Press, my upcoming novel, Cinema of Shadows, and other projects.
With convention season starting up this month, Fast Custom Shirts created a couple of T-shirt designs featuring my work for my table. Style A features “Jiki” from Skull Full of Kisses, and Style B (above) is Bob Freeman’s cover art for The Wide Game. Be the envy of Horror fans everywhere! Check out the Schedule section of the website for details on where I (and these awesome shirts) will be.
The month wrapped up with a trip to HorrorHound Weekend, where I signed copies of The Wide Game and Skull Full of Kisses at the Darkrider Studios table. It was great meeting new people and catching up with old friends. The place was wall-to-wall people, and I ended up selling out of everything I had. First time that’s ever happened! I will have to stock up and make sure I bring even more to InConJuction, FandomFest, and all the other shows I’m doing this year.
If you came by on Sunday after I sold out, or if you had to miss out on the signings, you can still order your copies now from Graveside Tales Books!
In other news, March saw author Brian Keene call for a boycott of Dorchester Publishing. Once upon a time, Dorchester was highly respected, and most Horror authors (myself included) would have given their first born child (sorry, son) for the privledge of joining their stable. But oh…how the mighty have fallen! As of this post, Dorchester has not paid royalties due to their authors, and to make matters worse, they have continued to electronically publish works that they no longer hold any rights to! (Get more information here.)
So join me, the Indiana Horror Writers, the Horror Writers Association, and a growing legion of writers and readers as we make our stand against unfair and unscrupulous business practices. Boycott Dorchester!
So what am I working on now? What do you all have to look forward to in the coming weeks and months?
Well, I was interviewed by Michael Knost for issue #11 of Shroud Magazine, and you can look forward to a new short story to appear in the same issue. The tale is called “Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite,” and Danny Evarts completed the lovely illustration above to go with it. So prepare for many a sleepless night when the magazine hits newstands everywhere!
My short story “Blood and Silk” has undergone a title change. It is now called “Masako’s Tale,” but you will still find it in The Beast Within 2 anthology, due out later this year from Graveside Tales Books.
And last, but certainly not least, l am hard at work on my Harmony, Indiana series for Seventh Star Press. The first title, Cinema of Shadows, is being edited as we speak, and I am currently writing the second novel, Spook House, due out in 2012.
Look for more updates on these and other works throughout the coming months. 
And that’s about it for March. But stay tuned, faithful readers…the year is just getting started!
