Nostalgiamares: Phantom Delivery Has Arrived!

After 38 years, my very first novel is finally available on Amazon!

While I haven’t been actively working on the manuscript for almost four decades, it has been quietly brewing in the back of my mind since childhood. There are ideas, themes, and motifs in the book that I can track to very specific moments from my past. That, I believe, is how writers work. Our brains our sticky.

We encounter a mildly interesting idea and it stays with us, collecting other neat thoughts and experiences, until a story has formed. That’s one of the many answers to the infamous question, “Where do you get your ideas?” They come from all the crap our sticky brains have collected throughout the course of our lives.

Although it is early, the reactions I’ve been getting to the book have been amazing. For instance, the stunning blurbs I received. I still can’t believe that these accomplished people took time out of their crazy schedules to read a story from an absolute nobody like me.

Why in the world would the legendary Jonathan Maberry agree to read a book by some dope calling himself Mark Guyer? I don’t know. But he did. Not only that — he liked it! He liked it enough to write an awesome blurb that would make me want to read the book:

“NOSTALGIAMARES: PHANTOM DELIVERY is a mind-bending story of shifting realities that demands an answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ Weird, dark, and highly entertaining.” -Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of CAVE 13 and THE SLEEPERS WAR

I mean…unreal!

I reached out to indie author and YouTuber Cameron Chaney to blurb the book because his Library Macabre videos got me back into the mindset I needed to be in to write Nostalgiamares: Phantom Delivery, and because his passion/respect for the kinds of horror novels Harper (my protagonist) finds herself in is unparalelled.

While he read the book, my anxiety went into a tailspin: What if he thinks the book is lame? What if he doesn’t see the in-jokes and meta commentary as interesting or funny? What if he simply refuses to blurb?

Relief washed away all the sweat and panic when he sent me this wonderfully concise blurb identifying the intended audience:

“Adult fans of vintage teen horror will enjoy a nostalgic tumble down the rabbit hole with Nostalgiamares, a loving homage to R.L. Stine’s Fear Street.” – Cameron Chaney, author of AUTOMCROW HIGH and host of Library Macabre

When I read that, I knew I’d done something right.

Then there was S. C. Fisher. I wasn’t as familiar with her work, but I liked the idea of reaching out to a fellow Raven Tale Publishing writer for a little solidarity. Not only was she incredibly nice to me, but her reaction to my book almost knocked me over. I couldn’t believe it.

How could anyone have written something so incredible about a story I wasn’t even sure would work? Not only did she compare me to the authors who inspired Nostalgiamares, but she used the phrase billet-doux. For a book about a killer pizza man, that’s some pretty fancy language. Read it for yourself:

“With Nostalgiamares: Phantom Delivery, new fiction author Mark Guyer brings his A-game to construct a retro-horror world that delivers everything from murderous pizza delivery drivers to vintage Brendan Fraser; a recipe containing all of my favourite food groups! On a road paved by the masters that came before (Stine, Pike, Cooney), Guyer expertly walks us through a story chock full of witty dialogue, clever red-herrings, and gutsy ‘final girls’, who I actually believedmight just survive the supernatural killers stalking them. Nostalgiamares: Phantom Delivery is the billet-doux to vintage 80s/ 90s YA horror that I never knew I needed – hooking the reader from first syllable to last – and setting up a series that promises to earn its place on
your bookshelf among the greats.” – S. C. Fisher, author of the Base Fear series.

These are three great writers who gave me their time, and I am eternally grateful. They made me feel like a real writer.

A hero of mine, D. J. MacHale (you know, the dude who created Are You Afraid of the Dark?) gave me a blurb as well. He didn’t have time to read the novel, but he told me the story sounded “crazy-fun.” I loved that reaction so much that I wanted to use it as a blurb. He gave me permission to do so.

This man created a series that was directly responsible for me becoming a writer. Now, his name is associated with my book. The loop on that is too much for me to comprehend.

Thank you all so, so much. I almost can’t believe it.

Did I mention: The book is out now! These people liked it. You might too!