Davi Mai is a short story writer focusing on fantasy, science fiction, and transgressive fiction. ProximaBound is Davi Mai’s latest YA science-fiction novella. (Davi Mai, 2022)
Proxima Bound – Humanity’s last hope rests with the colonists aboard the generational starship Attenborough bound for Proxima Centauri a thousand years away. Catastrophe strikes when a reactor meltdown cuts off those in the ship’s front from the rear. Two factions must now struggle to survive. With four hundred years still to travel, we join a plucky teenager, “Thief.” She has found a way through the ventilation system, around the radioactive core of the ship, and into the front sections. Thief brings back vital components that might help the rear-dwellers connect the ship’s computer. For the first time in hundreds of years, there is hope.
But people are disappearing without a trace, and the makeshift hospital is overflowing with cases of a new virus. It is up to Thief to embark on her toughest mission yet. To crawl through the bowels of the ship, the furthest she has ever been, and find some answers, before there is no-one left alive. What she finds at the front of the ship, however, is terrifying.
‘The Devil in Ohio’ is now a limited series on Netflix. Photo: Amazon
Daria Polatin is a TV writer/executive producer, award-winning playwright, and author. She wrote and directed her new play PALMYRA at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, which ran on CTG’s Digital Stage. Her plays have been produced across the United States and internationally. She is a founding member of The Kilroys, the advocacy group for gender parity in the American theater. Under her 1001 Pictures banner, Daria continues to write and produce propulsive stories that challenge and entertain. “Devil in Ohio,” her debut novel, was adapted into a Netflix limited series consisting of eight episodes starring Emily Deschanel and Madeleine Arthur. Daria is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer. (Amazon, 2022)
“Devil in Ohio” – Based on a true story. When fifteen-year-old Jules Mathis comes home from school to find a strange girl sitting in her kitchen, her psychiatrist mother reveals that Mae is one of her patients at the hospital and will be staying with their family for a few days. But soon Mae is wearing Jules’s clothes, sleeping in her bedroom, edging her out of her position on the school paper, and flirting with Jules’s crush. And Mae has no intention of leaving. Then things get weird. Jules walks in on a half-dressed Mae, startled to see: a pentagram carved into Mae’s back. Jules pieces together clues and discovers that Mae is a survivor of the strange cult that’s embedded in a nearby town. And the cult will stop at nothing to get Mae back.
‘The Spark’ is book one in the Beyond the Light Universe series. Photo: Amazon
William Steele is an artist and writer from the Rio Grand Valley in Texas. He is the creator of the Beyond the Light Universe. His debut novel “The Spark” is book one of four in the Beyond the Light series. (Amazon, 2022)
“The Spark”– Art and Science… Magic and Logic… Creation and Destruction…Choice and Inevitability…All are constructs born of an apex sentience, and somewhere out beyond the boundary of our known universe, there exists another apex species that has long since eclipsed us in experience. Their faith in magic has dwindled, and the Era of Egal has passed. By marching forward into the Era of Capitol, and abandoning the magical tether to their planet, the Thearians have decided to meet the trials of evolution head on. They have sealed their embrace of the New Way within the immortal city of Key-Rown, and choose the shelter provided by the great depths of the crystal flower. All have sealed their fate. All but one. This is his message.
‘Overkill’ is Sandra Brown’s new novel. Photo: Amazon
Sandra Brown is the author of seventy-four New York Times bestsellers. There are more than eighty million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into thirty-four languages. Four of her books have been made into films. In 2008, the International Thriller Writers named Brown its Thriller Master, the organization’s highest honor. In her new book “Overkill” she delivers a riveting thriller in which a conflict of conscience for a former football star and an ambitious state prosecutor swiftly intensifies into a fight for their lives. (Amazon, 2022)
“Overkill” – Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger has not seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for some time—not since their volatile marriage imploded—so he is shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he—despite their divorce—has medical power-of-attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the responsibility and the glare of public scrutiny, Zach ultimately walks away, letting Rebecca’s parents have the final say.
Four years later, Rebecca’s attacker, Eban—the heir of a wealthy family in Atlanta—gets an early release from prison. The ludicrous miscarriage of justice reeks of favoritism, and Kate Lennon, a brilliant state prosecutor, is determined to put him back behind bars. Rebecca’s parents have kept her alive all these years, but if her condition were to change—if she were to die—Eban could be retried on a new charge: murder. It is not lost on Zach that in order for Eban to be charged with Rebecca’s murder, Zach must actually be the one to kill her. He rejects Kate’s legal standpoint but cannot resist their ill-timed attraction to each other. Eban, having realized the jeopardy he is in, plots to make certain that neither Zach nor Kate lives to see the death of Rebecca—and the end of his freedom.
The Bigfoot horror movie will have a digital release on September 30, 2022. Photo: Google
Terror Films will release the Michael Pare-starring Bigfoot horror movie The Wild Man this September. Developed during the pandemic, the film stars Michael Pare, and is directed by Tampa Bay native Ryan Justice (Followers). Lauren Crandall, Julian Green, and Mike Reed also help make up the cast. (Terror Films, 2022)
“We used our downtime to create and develop projects. The Wild Man happened to be the perfect project to make at the time. As a Florida Native the Legend of the Skunk Ape (Florida Bigfoot) always had our interest. We wanted to do a fun movie around the legend and do something different with the bigfoot movie genre.”
The Wild Man – Young women have been going missing in Ochopee, FL, without a single suspect in custody. A young journalist, Sara, convinces her crew to join her investigation as she travels to Ochopee to document her discoveries, but they soon realize their presence in this town is not welcome. Determined to find her story, Sara convinces her friends to stick with her, because they are onto something big. Upon meeting Dale, the town’s notorious conspiracy theorist, she is convinced he knows more than he is willing to share. The crew humors Dale’s ridiculous theories, even accompanying him into the Florida swamps on his quest to show them “The Wild Man,” hoping he will somehow reveal his guilt. But what the crew discovers is a secret much deeper than fairy tales and legends. What they discover is much darker and more sinister than they bargained for.
The Wild Man will first premiere on digital platforms September 30 ahead of plays on the Terror Films and Kings of Horror YouTube Channels.
TERRITORY: NORTH AMERICA RELEASE DATE 1: 9/30/22 – DIGITAL RELEASE DATE 2: 10/7/22 – TERROR FILMS CHANNEL RELEASE DATE 2: 10/14/22 – KOH CHANNEL
Jeremy Squires’ new album Hymnal will be out October 14, 2022 via Blackbird Record Label. Photo: Jeremy Squires
North Carolina songwriter Jeremy Squires’ new upcoming full length album Hymnal will be out October 14 via Blackbird Record Label. The music video for the single “Into The Fog” is out now. Hymnal is an album with a tender and life-affirming quality, where Squires’ warm singing voice, shimmery guitars, sparkling ukulele voicings, and Brand’s vocal harmonies and heartfelt violin melodies stand out just as much as the poignant lyrics. Squires handled almost all the aspects of the album’s making, including the recording of his vocals and string instrument parts, production, and mixing. (Jeremy Squires, 2022)
“These songs are true stories that I wanted to tell without any clutter. I didn’t add any overdubs of instruments. I recorded my parts here at my house live and then sent the album to Autumn Rose Brand, a fantastic violinist and singer who lives here in North Carolina, who played and sang her parts and sent them back to me.” – Jeremy Squires
What sounds like a simple process, though, is anything but. The events, trials, and tribulations that led up to Hymnal center around his dissolving marriage, and the music, reflecting the subject matter, is scaled back compared to his previous full-length efforts. The Alternative shared the music video for “Into the Fog” off of Hymnal, a tenderly strummed song about, in Jeremy’s words, “realizing that you can’t save someone—no matter how hard you try—if they won’t put forth the effort to truly help themselves. It’s about delusions, dreams, and eventually, reality shining through like rays of light at the end.” Brand’s violin highlights the song’s ending refrain: “Oh, I won’t see you in the morning.”
Hymnal track list: 1. Don’t You Cry 2. Lament 3. Moon Coin 4. Hymnal 5. Juniper 6. To the Moon and Back 7. Balancing 8. Into the Fog 9. Echo Roads 10. Nightingale
Catch Jeremy Squires on tour: September 15 – Nashville, TN – ACME Feed & Seed September 16 – Nashville, TN – Brown’s Diner
Hymnal, due out October 14, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Our American Family opens in theaters in New York and Los Angeles and Video on Demand. Photo: Giant Pictures, used with permission.
Our American Family will be released in the United States theatrically in New York (Cinema Village), Los Angeles (Laemmle Monica) on September 2 and on Video On Demand in the United States, Canada, UK, and major territories on September 6, both timed to National Recovery Month. Video on Demand platforms include US – Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Canada- Apple TV/iTunes, Google Play, and UK- Apple TV/iTunes. (Giant Pictures, 2022)
Winner of the Woodstock Film Festival 2021- Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Addiction is an all-encompassing force, in not only of the lives of the afflicted, but also those around them. Our American Family provides an honest, unfiltered look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse. Captured at a pivotal “nothing to lose” moment, for over the course of a year, five family members tired of life with addiction on center stage, each struggle to transcend their crippling histories.
What will it take to shift this entrenched, wrenching pattern in their lives? Will they be able to make significant shifts to help their next generation? The members of Our American Family invite us into their lives to find hope and to explore what is possible. Though they often falter, their familial loyalty is powerful, demonstrating how through love and dedication people can rise out of the deepest depths. For a touching, eye-opening look into one of America’s most pressing crises, look no further.
Our American Family opens in September timed to National Recovery Month, a national observance held every September to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible.
Hallee Adelman is a writer, filmmaker, and co-founder of World of HA Productions. She is an executive producer on the Emmy-winning documentary “The Social Dilemma,” and the Oscar-nominated international film “Writing with Fire.” Other titles include the Academy shortlisted, “The Truffle Hunters,” the Sundance premiere “UsKids,” and the soon to be released, “Art & Krimes by Krimes.” Recent festival premieres, “Aisha,” “Broadway Rising,” and “Your Friend, Memphis.” Adelman is a Board Member of the International Documentary Association. Adelman co-directed and produced Our American Family after a writing project deepened her connection with the brave participants featured in the film.
The Alternate is one of the movies that will be available this September on digital platforms. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
A new month means a whole new batch of movies coming up in a variety of genres, from horror, to documentaries, and romance. I prefer science fiction movies dealing with time travel/alternate universes so The Alternate looks good to me, but below is a list of upcoming movies that will be available on digital platforms. (October Coast, 2022)
OUT NOW We Are Gathered Here Today Drama | Cinedigm | Digital Platforms (U.S, CANADA) Director: Danny Boyd, Cast: Danny Huston, Lin Shaye, Phoebe Tonkin, Javicia Leslie Synopsis: We Are Gathered Here Today is a film about a multi-generational mixed-race family coming together to say their last goodbye to the patriarch of the family, while at the same time dealing with other underlying issues that family gatherings can bring.
SEPTEMBER 2 (limited digital), SEPTEMBER 16 (global national digital release) Surrogate Paranormal thriller | Indie Rights | Digital Platforms (U.S, AU, UK, NZ, CANADA) Director: David Willing, Cast: Kestie Morassi and Jane Badler Synopsis: Written by Beth King and David Willing, in his feature directorial debut, Surrogate tells of Natalie Paxton (Morassi), a single mother and nurse, who falls mysteriously ill and struggles to stop her family from being destroyed.
Mister Limbo Sci-fi/Comedy/Horror | Terror Films | Digital Platforms (U.S/CANADA) Director: Robert G.Putka, Cast: Hugo de Sousa, Vig Norris, Cameron Dye, Hugo Armstrong Synopsis: A young man in a parachute lands in the middle of a desert. He does not remember who he is or how he got there.
SEPTEMBER 6 Kingdom of the Dinosaurs Sci-fi/Horror | Uncork’d Entertainment | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA) Director: Scott Jeffrey, Cast: Mark Haldor, Darcie Rose, Chelsea Greenwood, Chrissie Wunna Synopsis: In 2030 during World War III a small group of survivors make it into a bunker. Two years later they have to exit to find new supplies, but they are greeted by dinosaur predators.
Something in the Woods Sci-fi/Horror | Uncork’d Entertainment | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA) Director: Alex T. Hwang, Cast: Nicole Cinaglia, Robbie Dias Synopsis: The creature feature tells of two women who battle a frightening monster in the woods and stars Nicole Cinaglia.
This Land Drama/Documentary | Gravitas Ventures | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA) Director: Matthew Palmer Synopsis: From executive producer, Sundance and SXSW winner Jim Cummings (Thunder Road, The Beta Test), This Land is a film exploring six groups of Americans as they experience Election Day across the United States.
SEPTEMBER 13 Gameboy: The Movie LGBTQ+/Romance | Dark Star Pictures | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA) Director: Ivan Andrew Payawal, Cast: Kokoy de Santos and Elijah Canlas Synopsis: Gamers turned lovers Cairo and Gavreel spend time together a few weeks before Cairo returns to his province. Their relationship is tested as they have to deal with distance, the pandemic, fate, and circumstance.
Greywood’s Plot Horror-comedy | Terror Films | Digital Platforms (U.S, UK, AUSTRALIA, NZ, CANADA) Director: Josh Stifter, Cast: Josh Stifter, Daniel Degnan Synopsis: Two friends venture into a forest to see if a monster sighting is real. Has won acclaim on the festival circuit. Stifter’s follow-up to cult favorite The Good Exorcist.
The Alternate Sci-fi/Thriller | Uncork’ d Entertainment | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S, CANADA) Director: Alrik Brussell, Cast: Ed Gonzalez Marino Synopsis: Upon unlocking a portal to an alternate dimension where all his dreams have come true, struggling filmmaker Jake is forced to confront his idealized self.
SEPTEMBER 15 How Dark They Prey Horror | Film Valor| Digital Platforms, WatchMoviesNow (U.S, CANADA) Director: Jamison M. LoCascio and Adam Ambrosio, Cast: Josiah Schneider, Timothy Paul Jobe, and David Johnson. Synopsis: Four dark tales about the haunting nature of man and the unknown from WWII to Alien investigation, finding the occult, and kidnap with torture, the highly anticipated horror anthology is written by Adam Ambrosio, Anthony LoCascio and Jamison M. LoCascio.
SEPTEMBER 30 The Wild Man Horror | Terror Films| Digital Platforms (U.S, UK, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA) Director: Ryan Justice, Cast: Michael Pare Synopsis: Young women have been going missing in Ochopee, FL, without a single suspect in custody. A young journalist, Sara, convinces her crew to join her investigation as she travels to Ochopee to document her discoveries, but they soon realize their presence in this town is not welcome. Determined to find her story, Sara convinces her friends to stick with her, because they are onto something big. Upon meeting Dale, the town’s notorious conspiracy theorist, she is convinced he knows more than he is willing to share. The crew humors Dale’s ridiculous theories, even accompanying him into the Florida swamps on his quest to show them “The Wild Man,” hoping he will somehow reveal his guilt. But what the crew discovers is a secret much deeper than fairy tales and legends. What they discover is much darker and more sinister than they bargained for.
The California Honeydrops let loose in the studio for new album Soft Spot, due out October 7, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
In their fourteenth year together, bay-area soul/R&B favorites The California Honeydrops hits the post-lockdown ground running. Tour dates and festivals returned, including the Honeydrops’ first headlining show at Red Rocks, and, much to the delight of the band and fans alike, the group returned to the recording studio to lay down a new full-length album. The Honeydrops are sharing the very first taste of their upcoming release Soft Spot—out October7, 2022. (The California Honeydrops, 2022)
The first single “Takin’ My Time” kicks off with a slinky groove that the Honeydrops are known for, having made a career out of their signature blend of Bay Area R&B, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second line. With tasty horn-section interjections dancing around well-timed background vocals, “Takin’ My Time” embodies exactly what guitarist, trumpeter, and lead singer Lech Wierzynkski wanted to channel with the song’s lyrical content—as he describes, “Slow down, erase your social media, smoke some weed, watch the sunset, get out of the rat race.”
The Honeydrops have come a long way since Wierzynkski and drummer Ben Beaullieu started busking in an Oakland subway station, but the band has stayed true to that organic, street-level feel. Listening to Lech sing, it can be a surprise that he was born in Warsaw, Poland, and raised by Polish political refugees. He learned his vocal stylings from contraband American recordings of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong, and later at Oberlin College and on the club circuit in Oakland, California. With the additions of Johnny Bones on tenor sax and clarinet, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards, and Beau Bradbury on bass, they’ve built a powerful full-band sound to support Wierzynski’s vocals.
Soft Spot track list: Honey and Butter Gonna Be Alright Nothing at All I Miss You Baby, Pt. 1 Tumblin’ Takin’ My Time The Unicorn Soft Spot In Your Arms Lil Bit of Love Sneakin’ into Heaven I Miss You Baby, Pt. 2
Catch The California Honeydrops On Tour: September 9 – St. Helena, CA – Charles Krug Winery September 10 – San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Gathering September 11 – Perris, CA – Same Same But Different Festival 2022 September 19 – Buena Vista, CO – Ivy Ballroom at Surf Hotel September 20 – Crested Butte, CO – Center for the Arts September 22 – Telluride, CO – Sheridan Opera House September 24 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up October 14 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre October 16 – Flagstaff, AZ – Yucca North October 18 – Durango, CO – Animas City Theatre October 19 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf October 21 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom October 22 – Kansas City, MO – Knuckleheads October 23 – St. Louis, MO – The Big Top October 25 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club October 26 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club October 27 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall October 29 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI Annex October 30 – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag October 31 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Brewery November 2 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground November 3 – Portland, ME – Aura November 5 – New York, NY – Sony Hall November 6 – Boston, MA – Royale Boston November 8 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live November 9 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre November 11 – Charlottesville, VA – The Jefferson Theater November 12 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel November 13 – Highlands, NC – Highlands Food and Wine Festival 2022 January 15-22, 2023 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Sandy Beaches Cruise 2023
Jonathan Terrell welcomes you to his home state on new single ‘Texas’ from his new EP A Couple, 2,3. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
“To be from Texas means to be a good neighbor and to be a good friend to that neighbor,” says Austin-based recording artist Jonathan Terrell. His new single “Texas,” out now on Range Music, reads like a postcard and acts as an open invitation to anybody wanting to visit the great state of country music, barbeque and Willie Nelson. Written by Terrell and Jess Carson of Midland, “Texas” is a ‘come as you are’ anthem for all walks of life. (Jonathan Terrell, 2022)
Terrell recently released the music video for “Texas,” in partnership with Desert Door Texas Sotol’s Unreleased music series, which supports local Texas artists. Raised Rowdy premiered the single as well, calling it, “velvet-warm with a healthy dose of soul.” Produced by Beau Bedford at Dallas’s beloved Modern Electric Studios, like the rest of A Couple, 2, 3, “Texas” is available to stream or purchase. Fans can also pre-save or pre-orderA Couple, 2, 3 ahead of its September 9 release via Range Music.
Terrell will be supporting wildly popular country trio Midland on a string of U.S. dates starting where he will also be performing as part of their touring band.
A Couple, 2, 3 track list: Samantha I Know Paint By Lightning Texas Place Out Back Better For You
With his new EP, A Couple 2, 3, the singer-songwriter now signed to Range Music has translated his philosophy into a staggeringly coherent, funny, heartbreaking, and gorgeous project. Highlighted by brilliant singles like “Better For You,” which comes alongside a self-directed video with frequent collaborator Shakey Graves onboard as a producer, it is clear that two decades into this game, Terrell is firmly in his prime. There is a bravery in Terrell’s storytelling on this new project that only comes from repetition and honing the craft. The way he owns these songs—honors the stories he tells with joy and bravado—comes from his tenacious work ethic; all those days on the road, engaging in musical conversations with his fans to figure out what works best.
Catch Jonathan Terrell on tour: September 8 – Cheyenne, WY – Outlaw Saloon w/ William Clark Green September 10 – Billings, MT – Pub Station w/ William Clark Green September 11 – Great Falls, MT – The Newberry w/ William Clark Green September 15 – Spokane, WA – Lucky You Lounge w/ William Clark Green September 16 – Portland, OR – Ponderosa Lounge w/ William Clark Green September 17 – Medford, OR – The Rocky Tonk Saloon w/ William Clark Green September 20 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern w/ William Clark Green September 21 – Boise, ID – The Olympic w/ William Clark Green October 21 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union w/ Midland October 22 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks w/ Midland November 12 – Kennewick, WA – Toyota Center w/ Midland November 16 – Bellingham, WA – Mount Baker Theatre w/ Midland December 7 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head On Stage w/ William Clark Green December 8 – Richmond, V – The Broadberry w/ William Clark Green December 9 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater w/ William Clark Green December 10 – Worchester, MA – Off The Rails w/ William Clark Green
SA Examiner 