The Latest News

~MAMA'S BOY COLLECTION NOW AVAILABLE!

The trade paperback edition ($15.95) and the signed limited edition hardcover ($35 - sorry, SOLD OUT) of the MB collection is now available for immediate shipping.  

You can order your copy at:

Apex Book Company

The Horror Mall

Barnes & Noble

Amazon.com

Amazon Kindle

October 2009

~Halloween Book Signing

Join FRAN and her fellow New England Horror Writers cohorts at the Shrewsbury MA Borders for a little Halloween fun, October 31.  Fran will be signing copies of the Bram Stoker nominated, Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales, along with fellow authors, Bob Heske, Nate Kenyon, John Grover, Scott Goudsward, Michael Presutti, Jeffrey Thomas and Patrick Rahall.  These authors always have a few tricks and treats up their sleeves, so come and start your Halloween off with the wicked word chillers of NEHW:

Borders Books and Music
Saturday - Oct. 31, 2009
1PM to 3PM
476 Boston Turnpike
Shrewsbury MA
Phone (508) 845-8665

~Unicorn Conference Workshop

Fran will be a featured speaker at the Unicorn Writers Conference in Stratford CT, April 10th, 2010.  Unlike many workshops, The Unicorn Writers Conference is uniquely designed to arm visionary writers with the practical know-how they need to  get their manuscripts through - or around - the gatekeepers to the publishing world.

Iconic actor/author Gene Wilder will be speaking at Unicorn.  In addition, the conference will offer dozens of workshops involving the inside world of book publishing from the perspectives of various departments with a publishing company -- Contracts, Copyrights, Permissions, Legal, Subsidiary Rights, Foreign Rights, Audio, Electronic, Special Sales/Premium Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Promotion, Publicity, Sales, Royalties, Art & Design, Production -- as well as writing workshops focusing on key genres: Memoir, Children's Books, Mystery Writing, Screenwriting, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Horror/Fantasy, and Romance.  Also, we will have a panel of Literary Agents and Editors.

The conference will also include breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as a networking party afterward with live band and dancing. 

Sound enticing?  This inaugural conference event is only $140, all inclusive (there will be a small fee for special editor/agent pitch sessions).  For more information and registration, stay tuned.  The Official Unicorn Conference website is almost ready for business. 

July 2009

~Northeastern Writers' Conference

NECON!  Fran will be partying, er, enjoying the rigors of "camplife" at the 29th Annual Camp Necon in Bristol, RI at Roger Williams University.  She'll be paneling and visiting with old and new frields.  

April 2009

~Reviewed by The Doctor

Fran's collection receives a fine review from The Doctor.  Read the review HERE at The Doctor Is In!

~Interview at Monster Librarian  

Bret Jordan interviews Fran for the amazing Monster Librarian site.  Read the interview HERE!

~British Fantasy Award

Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales has been honored with a place on the Longlist for the British Fantasy Award.  See the complete list HERE!

March 2009

~Bram Stoker Finalist

Fran's collection makes the cut as a Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award!  Winners will be announced at the Stoker Banquet in LA in June.  Cross your fingers!

See the complete list HERE.

February 2009

~Reader's Choice Winner!

Fran wins the Reader's Choice Black Quill Award for Best Dark Genre Collection.  For details and the list of winners and nominees, go to: 

Winners - http://www.darkscribemagazine.com/2nd-annual-winners/

Nominees - http://www.darkscribemagazine.com/current-nominees/

Fran extends her congratulations to the winners and nominees, and a special thanks to all the wonderful folks who took the time to cast their votes!

~New Review at MONSTER LIBRARIAN

Bret Jordan offers a fine review of Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales at Monster Librarian.

CLICK HERE to read Bret Jordan's review.

~Liquid Imagination Interview

AJ Brown interviews Fran at Liquid Imagination.  Read Fran's candid interview in the burgeoning new fantasy mag from the most enthusiastic publisher in the business, John "JAM" Arthur Miller: CLICK HERE!

January 2009

~FEARZONE Editor's Pick

The chief editor at FEARZONE has announced his Favorite Picks of 2008 and Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales made the list for Favorite Horror Collections.  CLICK HERE to see all of the Editor's Picks at FEARZONE.

December 2008

~Black Quill Awards Nomination!

Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales has received the honor of being nominated for The Black Quill Awards in the Best Dark Genre Fiction Collection.  If you've enjoyed the collection and you have a moment to spare, please cast your vote.  Thanks so much for your support:

For the list of nominees and the voting info (bottom of the page): Click Here

OR

New to Dark Scribe - Register Here First (very quick) - Click
Ballot Page and Login - Click

Category: Best Dark Genre Fiction Collection

Book Title: Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales

November 2008

~The Short Review

Carol Reid reviews Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales at The Short Review - CLICK HERE!

"Fran Friel is a generous, spellbinding storyteller. Her love of a well-told tale is clear, from the first words of the opening story, Beach of Dreams..."

~The Fix

Michele Lee offers a review of the MB collection at The Fix - CLICK HERE!

Don’t let the first story in Fran Friel’s collection, Mama’s Boy and Other Dark Tales, deceive you into thinking this is some sort of “Horror Lite” book. The first story, “Beach of Dreams,” is a surreal, exotic tale of a man visiting a native tribe who is one day privy to examining strange things that wash up on their shores...Full of visceral imagery and summed up with a sad-sweet ending, this tale might make readers think Friel doesn’t have the balls to do more than flirt with horror.Perhaps purposefully deceptive, or perhaps just showing her versatility, Friel shatters that perception with her next offering, “Gravy Pursuits.”

October 2008

~C. Michael Cook Review

C. Michael Cook offers a wonderful review of Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales at GOODSCARES.  

"Fran Friel is a writer, one who's not only in touch with her own vivid imagination, but has learned how to harness it, allow it to run free, and isn't afraid to go where it wants to take her. In a genre that too often relies on the tried-and-true, that's saying a lot, and it sets her apart from many of her contemporaries."

September 2008

~Context 21

Fran appears at Context 21 in Columbus OH, September 2008.  She will be participating in readings, signing and panels throughout the weekend.  Be sure to stop by and say, hello!

August 2008

~Book Review at DARK SCRIBE

Publisher and Author, Vince Liaguno, reviews Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales at Dark Scribe Magazine. It's a review to die for...although Fran has survived to tell the tell. To Read the Review - CLICK HERE!

~FEAR ZONE Interview

Stop by Fear Zone for a little yammer and bit of dishing in Greg Lamberson's interview with Fran. Leave a comment and feel free to ask a question. Fran will reply and deny if necessary! Click Here for the Fear Zone Interview.

~FEATURED AUTHOR at HORROR WORLD

Fran is the Featured Author at the magnificent Horror World for the month of August. Stop by for a FREE READ of her story, "Bessie Green's Thumb." The HW editor compared it to an episode of the Twilight Zone!

July 2008

~Live at THE METAL CRYPT!

The wild men at The Metal Crypt will be interviewing Fran at Hard Rock Radio Live, Friday, July 11th at 7PM. If you can't make the Friday show, check back here for archive links and the YouTube version.

Listen to a mix of music and author chat at the show steaming live 7PM on Friday:

www.hardrockradiolive.com

OR

www.myspace.com/themetalcrypt

~NECON!

July means the NECON in New England. Fran will be attending with all her writing buddies for a great 4 days, July 17-20th at Roger Williams University in RI. She'll have copies of her new collection and will be participating in the group signing. Stop by and say Hi if you're a NECON camper!

June 2008

~Hypericon

Fran appears at Hypericon in Nashville, June 27-29th for the launch of her new collection, Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales. She'll be participating in panels, signing and readings. If you're attending, be sure to stop by the Apex Book Company table for a visit or to have your copy of MBAODT inscribed. Don't miss the book launch party Saturday night!

May 2008

~PRE-ORDERS Open for the MB Collection!

Pre-ordering for Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales is now available!

The book of 14 stories includes Bram Stoker finalist "Mama's Boy" and three additional novellas written especially for the collection, and is available in a signed limited edition hard cover (only 100 copies to be printed) as well as a trade paperback edition. As of this notice, nearly half the limited edition copies have been pre-ordered so if you'd like the hard cover edition, don't delay! The collection will be released on June 28th by the Apex Book Company.

PRE-ORDERS: Available at Apex Book Company and The Horror Mall.

For more details - Check Fran's Book page or Visit Apex.

NOTE: PAYPAL is available at Apex. To access the PayPal option, click ADD TO CART, then click the VIEW CART option in the menu on the left. You'll see the big yellow Check Out with PAYPAL button option in the middle of the page. Apex is fixing this Paypal access glitch. Thanks!

April 2008

~Henry's Back!

That's right, Henry's back and this time he has friends. The Bram Stoker Finalist novella, Mama's Boy is being released by Apex Publications along with a collection of Fran's fiction, including three new novellas and a number of short stories and flash fiction. Look for Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales at Apex and the book release bash at Hypericon in Nashville, June 2008.

"Mama's Boy by Fran Friel: It's almost impossible to discuss this nasty little story without giving away or hinting at its many twists and turns, so you're just going to have to settle for this: This blackest of black comedies, ingeniously structured, will leave you thinking that Norman Bates maybe wasn't all that bad a fellow. An impressive and memorable debut, and deliciously wicked to the core."
[from GB's Best Books of 2006 - December 19, 2006]
--Gary Braunbeck, Bram Stoker Award Winning Author of The Indifference of Heaven, and Keepers.

February 2008

~A Wickedly Happy Valentine's To You

January 2008

~Borderlands Press

In January, you'll find Fran and a small group of intrepid Grunts (writers) running the literary gauntlet at Borderlands Press Boot Camp Writing Workshop. Masters of writing (and literary student torture) F. Paul Wilson, Tom Monteleone, Doug Winter and Ginjer Buchanan will be putting the group through their paces in this intense professional workshop. If you want a quantum leap in your own writing skills, check out Borderlands Press Boot Camp.

December 2007

~Featured Author at Apex

As the Feature Author for December at Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest Online, Fran has two offerings for you. You can read her vintage story, "Under the Dryer," and a fun Interview with Apex Editor, Jason Sizemore, including some ghostly Friel confessions.

November 2007

~Dark Scribe Interview

Read Fran's interview with publisher, Vince Liaguno, at the fabulous Dark Scribe Magazine - Drawing First Blood: Interviews with Dark Genre Literature's Newest Talents. Receive special access to subscriber Only sections of this fine publication when you Register at Dark Scribe Magazine for FREE!

~Heidi's Pick Six Interview

Fran was recently invited to join the alumni of Heidi's Pick Six. Stop over and read Fran's interview at Heidi Ruby Miller's page: ambasadora.livejournal.com

October 2007

~Happy Halloween!

It's that wonderful time of year again where you groovy ghouls party hard in the dark of the night, but if during your travels you feel a little lonely, you can always count on Fran for a hug from the dark side.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

~Boot Camp

Yup, that crazy Friel woman is doing it again. She's going back to Borderlands Press Boot Camp - Short Fiction for a good woopin'. No doubt Tom Monteleone, F. Paul Wilson, Doug Winters and Ginjer Buchanan will whip her into shape and help Fran write "real good."

~Horror World

Fran has been contracted to appear as a 2008 Featured Author at the fabulous Horror World. Her work will be featured for a month at HW, one of the horror industry's best loved websites. Stay tuned for more info!

September 2007

~CONTEXT 20

Fran will be attending CONTEXT 20, September 28-30 in Columbus, Ohio. Come have a blast with Fran and some of her favorite writers - Gary Braunbeck, Michael Arnzen, Lucy Snyder, Geoffrey Girard and Tim Waggoner. She'll be lurking on the stage doing panels throughout the weekend and she'll read something wicked on Saturday at 4PM during the group reading. Make sure you stop by and say, HI!

August 2007

~Cross-Ponding

Read Fran's interview - UK versus US in Cross-Ponding: A Conversation with Authors, Barry J. House and Fran Friel - You can read their UK v. US interview at:
Whispers of Wickedness - PART 1 and Horrorworld - PART 2!

July 2007

~BBT Magazine

You can visit Fran on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each and every month at Blood, Blade and Thruster Magazine where she'll be blogging her heart out for you in her column, Wickedly Yours, Fran Friel. Be sure to say, Hi, if you get a chance to stop by for a read - Maiden Voyage of the Wicked and Fingers, Hands and a Strawberry Man.

~The Mama's Boy Collection

Apex Publications has contracted Fran to publish a short story collection, including her Bram Stoker nominated novella, Mama's Boy. The collection is schedule for release in Spring 2008 in limited-edition hardcover and a softcover editions, as well. Advanced sales will be available in 2008.

~NECON

Fran will be attending the Northeastern Writers' Conference - NECON, July 19-22. "Hope to see you there. Yeehaw!"

May 2007

~Context 20

Fran will be appearing at Context 20 in Columbus, Ohio - Sept. 28-30, 2007 (panel info to follow). Read more about Context 20 Here!

~Dark Animus

Chris Elston's review of Mama's Boy has been posted at Dark Animus. Read it Here!

~New Review

Australian author, Chris Elston, reviews Mama's Boy at Monsters In My Closet (review to also appear in Dark Amimus). Read the Review Here!

~Coming Soon

Two new interviews and some publishing news- Coming Soon!

The HL Blog-O-Rama

Fran Wrangles Bloggers at the New Home of The Horror Library Blog-O-Rama. Visit the HLBOR Here at MySpace!

April 2007

~Interview at HLBOR

AJ Brown interviews Fran for his NiNe QuestioNs series at The Horror Library Blog-O-Rama. Read NiNe QuestioNs with FraN Friel Here.

March 2007

~ 2006 Bram Stoker Awards

MAMA'S BOY has been nominated for the final ballot of the 2006 Bram Stoker Awards for Long Fiction. The awards ceremonies will take place in Toronto on the last weekend in March in conjunction with the 2007 World Horror Convention.

It's going to be quite a party!

~Interview at HorrorScope

AD John interviews Fran for Australian Web Log HorrorScope (Australian Horror Writers Association official news site). Read the Interview Here.

February 2007

February 1

~Bram Stoker Awards

MAMA'S BOY has moved from recommendation phase onto the Preliminary Ballot for the Stoker Award in the Long Fiction category. Here's hoping the novella receives the needed votes to make it to the Final Ballot! Great thanks to everyone for their continued support throughout the Stoker process. You are the best!

If you're an Active HWA member and would like a PDF copy of MAMA'S BOY to read for voting consideration, please send a request via email to franfriel AT gmail.com. Thanks!

~Latest Review

JOE MCKINNEY Reviews MAMA'S BOY Here at Skullring.org.

January 2007

January 26

~Borderlands Press Novel Boot Camp

Fran spent the weekend with 15 fellow "grunts" and writing magicians Tom Monteleone, F. Paul Wilson, Douglas Winter and Ginjer Buchanan at the renown Borderland Press Novel Boot Camp. The insight and observations of the instructors and fellow students will be invaluable to Fran's work on her upcoming novel series. Thank you, BPBC!!

December 2006

December 22

~Latest Reviews

From Gary Braunbeck's Best Books of 2006 - December 19, 2006:

Mama's Boy by Fran Friel: It's almost impossible to discuss this nasty little story without giving away or hinting at its many twists and turns, so you're just going to have to settle for this: This blackest of black comedies, ingeniously structured, will leave you thinking that Norman Bates maybe wasn't all that bad a fellow. An impressive and memorable debut, and deliciously wicked to the core.
--Gary Braunbeck, Bram Stoker Award winnning author of The Indifference of Heaven, and Keepers.

See the latest review of MAMA'S BOY by BQueen at HORRORWATCH.com.

~ Shocklines Rocks - Holiday Contest!

Stop by Fran's blog for details about the Shocklines Rocks - Holiday Contest! Excellent prizes to be had for helping to support the best online Horror Bookseller on the planet, Shocklines.com. No purchase necessary to have a chance to win!

Contest deadline: December 31st.

December 21

~Reviews of Mama's Boy

ANDREW JOHN Reviews MAMA'S BOY at HorrorScope.com

GARRY CHARLES Reviews MAMA'S BOY at Whispers of Wickedness

NICKOLAS COOK Reviews MAMA'S BOY at Hellnotes.com

November 2006

November 8

~The Envelope Please!

Thank you to the many generous people who took the time to play The Shocklines Rocks Horror Day Contest. The contest was a great success in support of Matt Schwartz and our beloved Shocklines.com. We'll be doing another one before Christmas. In fact, folks have ALREADY offered prizes for the Pre-Holiday Shocklines Rocks Contest. Stay tuned for that one!

Here's the list of our lucky winners:

$25 Shocklines Gift Cerfiticate - Nate Kenyon
$10 Shocklines Gift Certificate - dudley22
Signed Copy of BEASTS, by Shannon Riley - Lee
Signed Copy of THE OAK CLAN, by Jerrod Balzer - BQueen

And for those who signed up for my newsletter, News from The Lair, the winner of the MAMA'S BOY Signed ARC is the lovely h3yd00!

Sincere gratitude for the donations from James Calhoun, Shannon Riley and Jerrod Balzer. You are THE BEST!! Thanks again everyone for playing, a BIG Congratulations to our winners!

November 6

~Winners to Be Announced!

The winners of the Shocklines Rocks Horror Day Contest AND The News from The Lair Contest will be announced, Wednesday, November 8th! The Shocklines Rocks contest is closed, but there's still time to enter The News from The Lair Contest. Just by signing-up for Fran's newsletter, News from the Lair, you'll have a chance to win a signed Advanced Readers' Copy (ARC) of Fran's novella, MAMA'S BOY. Visit the Pleasure Palace for details or just sign-up HERE! Good luck, everyone!

~New Grunt

Fran received the excellent news that she was accepted into the Borderlands Press Novel Boot Camp. She's begun work on a new novel, THE SECOND SON, in preparation for Boot Camp, and the Borderlands' teaching team of Thomas Monteleone, F. Paul Wilson, Ginjer Buchanan, and Douglas E. Winter will no doubt put her through her paces.

~Friends New Page

The Friends News page has been updated. Look here!

October 2006

October 13th

~Number One!

Thanks to many wonderful people who purchased a copy, MAMA'S BOY once again has the honor of making the Shocklines Bestseller List. MB made it to the #1 Spot for Books In-Stock for the First Week of October. Woohoo!

~ Shocklines Rocks Horror Day Contest!

For those of you that already signed-up for Fran Friel Lair News, you've been given an automatic entry in the Shocklines Rocks Horror Day Contest! Along with the Signed MAMA'S BOY ARC from the Fran Friel's News from The Lair Contest, you have a chance to win a $25 Shocklines Gift Cerficate, a signed copy of Shannon Riley's novella, BEASTS, and signed softcover copy of Jerrod Balzer's, THE OAK CLAN. Support Shocklines and get more chances to win by visiting the Shocklines Rocks Horror Day Contest for details. Contest deadline: October 30th.

~A Few MAMA'S BOY Copies Still Available at Shocklines!

MB is Sold Out at the publishers, but you can still find a few copies at Shocklines.com!

Thanks you everyone for making MB a very successful debut!

October 3rd

~First Review is In!

First Review of MAMA'S BOY at Nicholas Grabowsky's Downwarden.com

CLICK HERE!

September 10th

~On Their Way!

MAMA'S BOY has been born into print! If you've chosen to take the plunge into the dark halls of Penn's Asylum with our "boy," then your copy should soon be winging its way to a mail-box near you! If you've been gathering your courage to consider the leap, it's not too late. There are still a few copies left...but just a few, so don't wait!

Available at:
Insidious Publications
Shocklines.com

September 1st

~Fran Friel's Lair Launch Spectacular begins with a Contest...Of Course!

Fran LOVES a good contest, as those of you who participated in The Shameless Mama's Boy Tease can attest! So, with the launch of The Lair comes more contest madness.
Fran Friel's News From the Lair Contest. Just by signing-up for News from the Lair you'll have a chance to win a signed Advanced Readers' Copy (ARC) of Fran's novella, Mama's Boy. Visit the Pleasure Palace for details or just sign-up HERE!

August 31st

~We Made the List!

Thanks to you MAMA'S BOY has made the Top 10 Bestseller List at Shocklines.com! Thank you VERY much for making this honor possible. Woohoo!

~Mama’s Boy - Now Available!

Available now at:
Insidious Publications
Shocklines.com

Deep within the confines of Penn’s Asylum waits a scarred and broken man with a seemingly non-existent past. Found burned and unresponsive twenty years prior, Frank Doe’s dark secrets have remained locked away in mute silence. That is until Rebecca, a beautiful young doctor newly assigned to the wards of the asylum, steps in to unlock and scour Doe’s psyche for answers about his past. Shocking revelations bring about the doctor’s own troubled history, opening a long-closed set of wounds that she herself must face.

A novella of deep, dark and disturbing images, Mama’s Boy is a story you won’t soon forget. Perhaps it will even unleash your own wounds lying just below the surface. Will you withstand the demons inside?

This is a perfect bound Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Novella - 100 Copies Only. Introduction by author James Newman, and Illustrations by Tom Moran and Zach McCain. This little 97 page gem is hand bound with a high-gloss soft cover, full-color interior illustrations, French parchment end papers, linen signature sheets and it is signed by the author, the artists & James Newman. Mama's Boy is being published, printed and bound by Insidious Publications.

"A fun, old school psych ward confessional full of blood and betrayal where you can't tell who are the inmates and who are the keepers."
—Tom Piccirilli, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Headstone City and November Mourns

"Fran Friel's MAMA'S BOY is a gripping, disturbing, and more- than-slightly twisted debut novella. Though you may feel the need to shower with boiling water afterwards, Friel accomplishes the fine art of making you squirm--big time--without being needlessly graphic. A demented winner from a very promising new author."
—Jeff Strand, author of Pressure and Casket For Sale (Only Used Once)

"Mama's Boy is Compelling, suspenseful, and disturbing as hell! Fran Friel has made a fan out of me!"
--Brian Knight, author of King of Souls and Hacks.