Spungunion

[Shiney]

My most recent novella is coming soon, releasing on Halloween.

I've been blessed with pretty good reviews and kind words on my previous books but I gotta tell ya, I'm extremely proud of this one. I even managed to get Bracken MacLeod to write the introductiony thing.


Spungunion: (pronounced: Spun-Gun-Yun) noun; 1.) a dish made from rotting road kill, usually a skunk or a opossum. The more fragrant or maggoty, the better. 2.) Something that's been on the road for a long and unfortunate time...

This is the story of Deke Larch, a widowed trucker who has lost everything and is struggling to find his place in a world and the person who took it from him. That journey puts him in touch with strange characters and bizarre places. Deke had always felt like he operated on the fringe of society, but he really had no idea...his journey will teach him that monsters are interpretive and sometimes what we think we want is not what we seek at all.

Spungunion is a story about grief and loss, about lonely roads and lost souls, about failure to let go and falling when you finally do. It's about livin' and dyin' and how sometimes the difference between is very slight.

“This trucker’s tale of bloody revenge and harrowing self-illumination takes place in the deepest, strangest veins of the Twilight Zone’s midnight highways. Boden rolls his supernatural mystery down the blacktop surface of the road to Hell, and you’re gonna love the journey into the fire.” – Philip Fracassi, author of Behold the Void, Fragile Dreams and Altar.


"John Boden is a writer to watch. His conversational prose is rich, insightful, emotional, and beautifully descriptive. The story he tells using these ample skills is equally impressive. Spungunion is stylish and lyrical, yet down and dirty. Boden sends readers on a journey through a bizarre landscape of terrifying sights and beings, creatures that may have once been human but are now wholly unnatural. It’s a mesmerizing trip from doublewides to truck stop diners, as a lost and angry man pursues vengeance all the way to the final stretch of highway: a path the downtrodden and the damned call the Soul Road. In short, Spungunion is an outstanding dark, rural fantasy, and you need to read it."--Lee Thomas, Bram Stoker Award and Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The German and Down on Your Knees.

 

[GNTLGNT]

My most recent novella is coming soon, releasing on Halloween.

I've been blessed with pretty good reviews and kind words on my previous books but I gotta tell ya, I'm extremely proud of this one. I even managed to get Bracken MacLeod to write the introductiony thing.


Spungunion: (pronounced: Spun-Gun-Yun) noun; 1.) a dish made from rotting road kill, usually a skunk or a opossum. The more fragrant or maggoty, the better. 2.) Something that's been on the road for a long and unfortunate time...

This is the story of Deke Larch, a widowed trucker who has lost everything and is struggling to find his place in a world and the person who took it from him. That journey puts him in touch with strange characters and bizarre places. Deke had always felt like he operated on the fringe of society, but he really had no idea...his journey will teach him that monsters are interpretive and sometimes what we think we want is not what we seek at all.

Spungunion is a story about grief and loss, about lonely roads and lost souls, about failure to let go and falling when you finally do. It's about livin' and dyin' and how sometimes the difference between is very slight.

“This trucker’s tale of bloody revenge and harrowing self-illumination takes place in the deepest, strangest veins of the Twilight Zone’s midnight highways. Boden rolls his supernatural mystery down the blacktop surface of the road to Hell, and you’re gonna love the journey into the fire.” – Philip Fracassi, author of Behold the Void, Fragile Dreams and Altar.


"John Boden is a writer to watch. His conversational prose is rich, insightful, emotional, and beautifully descriptive. The story he tells using these ample skills is equally impressive. Spungunion is stylish and lyrical, yet down and dirty. Boden sends readers on a journey through a bizarre landscape of terrifying sights and beings, creatures that may have once been human but are now wholly unnatural. It’s a mesmerizing trip from doublewides to truck stop diners, as a lost and angry man pursues vengeance all the way to the final stretch of highway: a path the downtrodden and the damned call the Soul Road. In short, Spungunion is an outstanding dark, rural fantasy, and you need to read it."--Lee Thomas, Bram Stoker Award and Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The German and Down on Your Knees.

...congrats on the great reviews man!.....

 

[Tery]

Well done and congrats. Hope it's a million seller

 

[mal]

Way to flaunt those reviews and congratulations! I've never had it in me to sell myself and admire those who can. Maybe one day I'll be posting on your author message board!

 

[Shiney]

I've told this story a bunch of times...I'd not be writing at all were it not for Stephen King. I first read him at 11, I stole my Mom's copy of SALEM'S LOT. Then was in from there. When I was about 12 or so, I sent him one of my stories--a terrible two-pager about a vampire vacuum cleaner. I sent it to the address of the publisher. After a few months, I forgot. A long time later (Remember, I was 12 so it could have been months or days) I got a reply: A yellow card with a standardized pre-printed reply along the lines of "Thanks for writing..." BUT written in fairly neat print at the top margin, was a tiny note that said something akin to "Fun little story. Keep at it and I look forward toreading you one day! S.K." I saved that thing on my bulletin board for years (I'd still have it were it not lost when I was away at school and my Mom moved.)

I've told that story to Brian Keene and he always laughs and tells me it was really he who wrote that. I only hope one day that he might actually read one of my books and maybe remember that silly story and smile.

 

[Shiney]

This has been out almost a month, and while the fact it's not available on Amazon seems to have stymied the launch as intended. It's not doing too badly. The few reviews that have shown themselves have been great. It does have a listing on Goodreads, in case anyone reads it and wants to post a review. That's the sort of thing that makes authors happy.

 

[Shiney]

I can't lie. This one made me tear up a teeny tiny bit....


"John Boden is yet another writer I wish more people were aware of. Whilst his output is infrequent, the quality of the writing is never in doubt and so it continues with his latest story, Spungunion. Spungunion is a fantastic, weird novella, one I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in this place rife with strange characters. The word Spungunion itself is strange though when you read what it means I’m sure you’ll agree it fits perfectly with the story.

Deke Larch’s story of revenge takes the reader on a journey through odd destinations that are filled with equally odd characters. What begins as a straightforward tale of loss, grief and murder soon becomes a sort of weird road trip as Deke seeks out the person responsible for his wife’s brutal murder.

John’s writing is creative, passionate and moving. Spungunion is quite simply a superb story full of heart. During the book, we get little snippets from Deke and Lucille’s past. These add another emotional layer to the story. Sometimes, flashbacks can interrupt the flow of a story but not so here. We get a real sense of the special bond these two shared and it makes you invest in Deke’s quest for clarity and vengeance. Whilst very different, Spungunion actually reminded me a little of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

I love everything about this story, I only wish it was longer. Certain characters had a fantastic mystique about them and I felt there was much to be explored, though I certainly didn’t feel cheated by its novella length. Sometimes it is good when the reader is left wanting more. If you enjoy weird fiction and are looking for a new author to check out, John Boden’s Spungunion is well worth your time and your coin.

4.5/5 greasy spoons from the Grim Reader."

 

[Shiney]

This is still trucking (pardon that pun, given the novella's subject matter) It's still only available through the publisher's store but I'm hoping to get it out via that online sller named for a giant river as well as in a digital format.

Anyone who has ordered it, I thank you.

If not, perhaps some of these kind blurbs will sway you.


"John Boden writes with heart, humor, and a poet's ear for language. He's a true original and an important voice in the genre." --Jonathan Janz, Author of Dust Devils and Children Of The Dark

"A mixture of a modern Odyssey, a bleak Wizard of Oz and a more linear Jacob's Ladder. It's grim." -Christopher Ropes, Author of The Operating Theater and Complicity

"John Boden's writing is as sentimental as it is awe inspiring. SPUNGUNION is a journey through the highways of grief and love and it's a hell of a trip." --Patrick Lacey, author of We Came Back and Sleep Paralysis


"Spungunion is a wonderfull countrified tale of darkness, depravity and revenge. It packs all the flavor of a greasy chicken-fried steak into one hell of an entertaining package. It's Neil Gaiman by way of Red Simpson." --Amber Fallon, Author of The Terminal and The Warblers.