DEAD MONKEY RUM

Tiki fans of all stripes might be interested in my new novel, DEAD MONKEY RUM. You can order the book right here: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Monkey-Rum-Robert-Guffey/dp/1915546001

A mixture of urban fantasy and Los Angeles noir, DEAD MONKEY RUM revolves around a stolen Tiki idol that contains the ashes of visionary artist Stanislaw Szukalski. Our heroes, an alcoholic monkey named Robert Mclintlock and a beautiful bartender named Stephanie Waterfall, must locate the missing statue in the wilds of Los Angeles before a tribe of pissed-off Yetis can get their massive, dirty paws on it. Because the obsidian idol possesses magical properties, the cryptozoological beasts intend to use it to kickstart the destruction of the entire human race.

DEAD MONKEY RUM is an alcohol-fueled voyage through the heart of Los Angeles. This tumultuous odyssey amidst the Tiki bars, illicit casinos, exclusive hotels, trains, buses, and hidden tunnels and grottoes that lay beneath the City of Angels propels our hero, Robert McLintock (who just so happens to be a wiseacre simian conman from a small island called Koshima located off the coast of Japan), from his comfort zone in Orange County, into the violent byways of Hollywood, and far beyond Southern California to the Rano Rarako volcanic crater on the remotest island in the world, Rana Nui, also known as Easter Island, where our heroes ultimately engage in a final, fierce, knockout battle with an army of homicidal Abominable Snowmen for the control of Planet Earth.

"Robert Guffey's fantastic novel, DEAD MONKEY RUM, will at least bring your brain out of a coma, if not get your imagination off the couch. This is a thinly masked tribute/adventure to the late Stanislaw Szukalski and his boundless imagination. This book is a mental gymnasium." -- ROBERT WILLIAMS (Visual Addiction, Hysteria in Remission, and Through Prehensile Eyes)

"A fantastically rich and entertaining piece of work with an original sharp edge." -- JIM WOODRING (writer/artist of Weathercraft, The Frank Book, and One Beautiful Spring Day)

"Stanislaw Szukalski would love DEAD MONKEY RUM. This novel is addictive like a heavy drug. Make space in your calendar to read it all." -- IREK DOBROWOLSKI (director of the Netflix documentary, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski)

"Yetis, Tiki Gods, Cryptozoology, and rum-filled adventure! Sign me up and tell me when the ship sails! I'm recommending this Robert Guffey novel to all my friends, family, and foes to take their minds completely off whatever they are thinking about. Wonderful." -- LOREN COLEMAN (Mysterious America, The Field Guide to Lake Monsters and Sea Serpents, The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Curious Encounters, and 40 other books - Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum)

"DEAD MONKEY RUM succeeds at being a pursuit thriller, with suspense and tension as the monkey and Stephanie evade their cryptid enemies, and comedy as the two exchange jabs at each other. It is cinematically fast. DEAD MONKEY RUM should be adapted to a [...] Ralph Bakshiesque animated film where both the zaniness of the narrative and the latent satire would really flourish." -- EXOTICA MODERNE

Unboxing DEAD MONKEY RUM: https://cryptoscatology.blogspot.com/2023/10/unboxing-dead-monkey-rum.html

Last week I appeared on THE TYLER'S PLACE, the official podcast of the Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, and discussed the genesis of DEAD MONKEY RUM (among other topics): https://www.spreaker.com/user/tylersplace/guffey-mixdown

A few days later, I appeared on Solaris BlueRaven's HYPERSPACE radio show to chat about DEAD MONKEY RUM as well as some of my previous books (such as BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD): https://www.kcorradio.com/archives/hyperspace/2023/october/robert-guffey.mp3

[ Edited by Robert Guffey on 2023-10-24 17:53:47 ]

"When I'm relaxing in the privacy of my secret laboratory after wreaking havoc against the frightened multitudes, I enjoy whiling away the hours by reading exciting South Sea adventures about talking monkeys and stolen Tiki idols, and Robert Guffey's latest novel, DEAD MONKEY RUM, hits the sweet spot!" --Dr. Jack Griffin (AKA the Invisible Man)

https://cryptoscatology.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-invisible-man-endorses-chameleo.html

The nominations for the 22nd Annual Rondo Awards have now been announced! I'm honored to be included among the nominees for "Best Classic Monster Fiction" (for my 2023 Tiki-themed novel, DEAD MONKEY RUM) alongside the likes of such luminaries as Tim Lucas (THE BOOK OF RENFIELD) and Craig Russell (THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND)! Please consider voting for DEAD MONKEY RUM...

YOU CAN VOTE FOR DEAD MONKEY RUM IN 3 EASY STEPS:

1. Copy-and-paste the ballot below into an e-mail.
2. Choose DEAD MONKEY RUM in the BEST CLASSIC MONSTER FICTION category.
3. Then email to David Colton ([email protected]) by midnight on April 16th, 2024.

Don’t forget to include your name in the e-mail!

--START COPYING--

12. BEST CLASSIC MONSTER FICTION: — DEAD MONKEY RUM, by Robert Guffey (Planet Bizarro, softcover, 192 pages, $12.99). Cryptozoic beasts race adventurers in Los Angeles.

--END COPYING--

PRAISE FOR DEAD MONKEY RUM:

"A remarkable rush of entertainment and thrills." --Alan Moore (V for Vendetta and Watchmen)

"Robert Guffey's fantastic novel, DEAD MONKEY RUM, will at least bring your brain out of a coma, if not get your imagination off the couch. This is a thinly masked tribute/adventure to the late Stanislaw Szukalski and his boundless imagination. This book is a mental gymnasium." -- Robert Williams (Visual Addiction, Hysteria in Remission, and Through Prehensile Eyes)

"A fantastically rich and entertaining piece of work with an original sharp edge." -- Jim Woodring (writer/artist of Weathercraft, The Frank Book, and One Beautiful Spring Day)

"Stanislaw Szukalski would love DEAD MONKEY RUM. This novel is addictive like a heavy drug. Make space in your calendar to read it all." -- Irek Dobrowolski (director of the Netflix documentary, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski)

"Yetis, Tiki Gods, Cryptozoology, and rum-filled adventure! Sign me up and tell me when the ship sails! I'm recommending this Robert Guffey novel to all my friends, family, and foes to take their minds completely off whatever they are thinking about. Wonderful." -- Loren Coleman (Mysterious America)

[ Edited by DEAD MONKEY RUM on 2024-03-01 19:45:33 ]

[ Edited by DEAD MONKEY RUM on 2024-03-01 19:46:17 ]

Since thousands of Tiki enthusiasts are now flocking to the annual Tiki Oasis event in San Diego to bask in the Southern California sun, lounge by the pool at the Town & Country Hotel, attend the midnight burlesque show, and imbibe a variety of exotic tropical cocktails conjured up by alchemical mixologists, I thought this would be the ideal time to offer a "behind-the-scenes" look at the process used by artist Joseph Dunn to design the fabulous cover for my 2023 Tiki-centric novel, DEAD MONKEY RUM, which was nominated for a Rondo Award earlier this year.

Joseph managed to nail the exact vibe I had envisioned for the cover when I first began writing the novel one sunny spring afternoon while sitting near the koi pond in the luxuriant Japanese Garden at CSU Long Beach, Sven Kirsten's THE SOUND OF TIKI blasting into my ears through my headphones. Appropriately enough, Martin Denny and Si Zentner's "Tiki" (from their 1962 album EXOTICA SUITE) was the song playing when the idea for the novel first struck me. I don't believe reading DEAD MONKEY RUM would be quite the same experience without Joseph's artistic contribution. Laid out below is the step-by-step process Joseph used to reach the final image that adorns the cover of DEAD MONKEY RUM. If you like what you see (and I'm sure you will), you should check out Joseph's Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/zegoldensombrero

You can order the book right here: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Monkey-Rum-Robert-Guffey/dp/1915546001/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

PRAISE FOR DEAD MONKEY RUM:

"A remarkable rush of entertainment and thrills." --ALAN MOORE (V for Vendetta and Watchmen)

"Robert Guffey's fantastic novel, DEAD MONKEY RUM, will at least bring your brain out of a coma, if not get your imagination off the couch. This is a thinly masked tribute/adventure to the late Stanislaw Szukalski and his boundless imagination. This book is a mental gymnasium." --ROBERT WILLIAMS (Visual Addiction, Hysteria in Remission, and Through Prehensile Eyes)

"A fantastically rich and entertaining piece of work with an original sharp edge." --JIM WOODRING (writer/artist of Weathercraft, The Frank Book, and One Beautiful Spring Day)

"Stanislaw Szukalski would love DEAD MONKEY RUM. This novel is addictive like a heavy drug. Make space in your calendar to read it all." --IREK DOBROWOLSKI (director of the Netflix documentary, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski)

"Yetis, Tiki Gods, Cryptozoology, and rum-filled adventure! Sign me up and tell me when the ship sails! I'm recommending this Robert Guffey novel to all my friends, family, and foes to take their minds completely off whatever they are thinking about. Wonderful." --LOREN COLEMAN (Mysterious America, The Field Guide to Lake Monsters and Sea Serpents, The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Curious Encounters, and 40 other books - Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum)

"DEAD MONKEY RUM succeeds at being a pursuit thriller, with suspense and tension as the monkey and Stephanie evade their cryptid enemies, and comedy as the two exchange jabs at each other. It is cinematically fast. DEAD MONKEY RUM should be adapted to a [...] Ralph Bakshiesque animated film where both the zaniness of the narrative and the latent satire would really flourish." --EXOTICA MODERNE

"One of the weirdest romps you'll ever read." -- FORTEAN TIMES