"His work reasserts the belief that all writers try to keep believing: What we write on the page can become an agent of change."
Welcome to Books by Joe King
Books by Joe King
A Salted Slug: $15.99 paperback, $.99 Kindle
The North American Union said there’s no need to worry about the mysterious red orb that has appeared in the sky, so it must be true.
Zander Kain, ex-Ministry of Communications reporter, doesn’t believe that to be the truth. Now, a freelance writer for Entertainment-Only news—what the independent press has been reduced to—Zander has little hope of exposing the hovering anomaly. However, it doesn’t stop him in his quixotic quest to get the truth into the press, even if it means pitting himself against nearly every facet of society.
This world turns our own on its head and examines it through the lens of absurdity. Zander must tackle the modern-day conceptual enigmas surrounding journalism. Any information that doesn’t support the narrative of those in power, are an enemy of the public. False flags fly high in this tale of mingled bureaucracy, mediocracy, and conspiracy that is part Orwellian, part Vonnegutesque, and hits a little too close to home.
Human Ants: $5.99 paperback, $.99 Kindle
Poetry and novels by Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, Kurt Vonnegut, William S. Burroughs, and others shaped a sharp, steely grey mid-twentieth century America into which any artist in his or her right mind would be afraid to be born. Two generations later, Joe King, who has grown up in this world, populates its bleak, industrialized landscape with Human Ants, featuring bold, sardonic personas who tirelessly try to mean something in a world where they fear insignificance.
Although often unapologetically contemporary where it comes to content, King’s poems acknowledge their intellectual predecessors; many are occupied by historical and literary figures (Nostradamus, Iago, Mozart, Jean Valjean.) But the laws of the land as portrayed in this twentieth-first century dystopia King has built in Human Ants still manage to present a sense of hope with keen intelligence and satirical humor.
Raw Egg: $10 paperback, $2.99 Kindle
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“To be an artist is to hate. All the rest is a lie.” That’s how struggling writer Gregor Planks views the world of creation. But when the lines that blend fiction and reality blur, Gregor can’t shake the feeling that he isn’t in control of the fiction he writes. Blinded by his ego, obsessed with the desire of an unworthy love, and ravished by the cruelties of a world that may not even be real, Gregor overlooks the common threads between fact and fiction to find himself locked in a battle for his own existence. This urban fantasy puts a modern twist on classic literary conventions and turns them on their head in a read that bleeds with dark humor. This egg is raw.
Midnight Oil: $9 paperback, $2.99 Kindle
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The worlds of multiple authors stalk in the shadows of the late-night hours of the Midnight Oil Anthology, a collection of stories highlighting tales of deception. Mingled with romance, horror, dark humor, and fantasy, this suspenseful collection of stories will have readers on the edge of their seats, biting their nails in worry, and unable to put it down until they know what happens next. The collection features works from both established and emerging authors, who were hand-selected for this project.
The assembly of authors includes Joe King, author of the five-star rated meta-fiction hit Raw Egg, Taylor Floyd, highly-acclaimed fantasy author of A Nightingale’s Tale, romance-writing guru Sarah Stein, D.A. Roach, who is most known for various genres of YA novels but also writes series novels of horror and dark fiction, Joe Pranaitis, an acclaimed Sci-fi/Fantasy writer, Freya LeCrow, who has been an author for many years and has created many mystery and paranormal stories, Viv Drewa, a.k.a. The Owl Lady, who writes fictional murder, mystery, romance, and adventure books, Karen Vaughan—a humorous storyteller of murder and mystery, Southern Owl Publications publisher and author, Crystal L. Gauthier, and Skyler Rankin, the newest on the literary scene as an author of YA, paranormal, and mystery stories.
All of these authors are of high caliber, and the Midnight Oil anthology is a collection of writing that has something for everybody. From thrills to chills and side-splitting shrills, this collection is sure to please readers of all tastes. For those who dare to turn its pages, just be sure to keep that midnight oil burning.
This collection features Joe King's short story "A Common Place."