Enter the Mihmiverse!

Some exciting news today. I have partnered with Saint Euphoria Pictures to write an official novel set within the world of the Mihmiverse--That Which Lurks in the Dark!

"What is the Mihmiverse," you ask?

A brief background. For twenty-five years, I've taken my camcorder and gone out all over town with my friends and growing family to film home monster movies. We've never released them to the public--not even by way of YouTube--and have no desire to ever do so. They are simply something that we make for ourselves and our circle of friends to gather and watch and share. But they do contain an ongoing mythology that has grown to encompass (so far) over forty "home movies". The mythology has expanded so much, in fact, that it has now crept into my novels.

In fact, my two novels HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick, Monsters, and Murder and HITMEN: Night World are "big budget" adaptations of a curated handful of those same home movies! And, if I have my way, there will be many more such adaptations to come. These movies mean a great deal to me and have become a special "Secondary World" that even my kids hope to continue one day with their children.

Keep that backstory in mind as I take you back to the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The world had shut down (though we continued to make our movies, since we were stuck in our homes with little else to do), when lo, I hear that Blobfest was going to be held digitally that year, given the shutdowns. Blobfest, for the uninitiated, is a yearly event celebrating the famed 1950s B-movie The Blob, as well as serving as a general gathering of all lovers of classic B-movie monster cinema. Our family had long wanted to go to Blobfest, but we rarely travel (that far, anyway), and the price was always out of our range. But, during Covid, Blobfest was going to be digital! No, it wasn't the same. But it was about as close to "going to Blobfest" as I was likely to get.

We "attended" the digital film festival and, during the breaks between showings, they played a trailer for a recent movie shot in the style of the a classic 1950s drive-in shlockbuster. The movie was Danny Johnson Saves the World, and that was my first introduction into the Mihmiverse.

Filmmaker Christopher R. Mihm has, for the last fifteen years, been writing and directing 1950s style monster movies with his friends and family... Sound familiar? I immediately sensed in him a kindred spirit--a man who made movies for the love of it with the people he loved. Only, he actually released his movies to the public! 

After seeing that first trailer, I dove headfirst into watching ALL the "Mihmiverse" movies and became an incredible fan of Mr. Mihm's passion and imagination. His movies are fun, and also have a very intricate mythology shared between them--which I loved, of course.

Then, last year, Mr. Mihm put out the call that he was making a new movie entitled Annihilate All Humans and he was looking for fans to film themselves in the midst of a flying saucer attack to send to him to be used in the movie! I immediately reached out and gathered my cast and crew from my home movies and we shot a brief sequence, which ended up in the finished movie. From there, I connected with Christopher and shared with him my own "home movie" experiences. 

While listening to his monthly podcast recently, I learned that there was one movie that Mr. Mihm began, but was never able to finish once the pandemic started. A "lost" Mihmiverse movie. He expressed regret that it had never reached fruition, and I corresponded with him about taking that script and adapting it to a novel. Remember, I'd done the same for my movies and knew there was a certain thrill in taking a script designed for a small budget and blowing it up in a way someone of our means would never be able to produce on film. He graciously accepted my offer and I set out to write--and complete--this Lost Chapter in the ever-growing Mihmiverse saga.

The book is out today and I hope that you check it out. It was a real treat to write. If you love campy, good-hearted monster adventure, this is for you. And while you're checking out the book, I encourage you to explore all the offerings the Mihmiverse provides. There is much fun to be had for monster fans of all ages!

As for the book, here's the official synopsis for That Which Lurks in the Dark:

Love! Terror! Tentacles!

It's New Year's Eve and the Phantom Lake Lonely Hearts Club is holding its annual celebration. When the night's festivities are interrupted by a distant explosion and subsequent blackout, its members are forced to deal with their personal anxieties in the form of overwhelming darkness, otherworldly be-tentacled creatures, a pair of monster hunting scientists and, most frighteningly, their own awkward quests for love!

Order your copy today!