The Ojanox IV: Lonesome Mountain by Daemon Manx

 Happy Release Day to Daemon Manx!

"The Ojanox harkens back to the horror boom of the '70s and '80s, in a very good way. Manx has a knack for creating characters you'll love (or hate) and putting them through the ringer. His dialogue is sharp and storytelling gripping and fast paced. Now that I'm hooked, I need to read the rest!" Duncan Ralston, author of Woom and Ghostland

The Ojanox series came out swinging, with its first book releasing in mid-July of 2024 and its conclusion releasing today. The series has earned some of those coveted orange banners from the Schmamazon, and each book has a 4-star+ rating on Goodreads. The series is described has having small-town/Halloween/classic creature feature horror vibes, all tropes that get a lot of love from the community, and rightfully so! Not only is Daemon a beloved writer in the indie community, but he's a great guy to boot. His personal story is one of inspiration, and he's doing some great things!

The synopsis for the series is as follows: 

 The year is 1979. A small New York town prepares to welcome the fall season in all the expected young children bicker and boast over Halloween costumes, secret lovers meet in clandestine corners, and a tortured soul plots wicked deeds. All the while, hidden just out of view, patient and hungry… an ancient evil lurks.

Welcome to Garrett Grove, an unassuming community nestled within the foothills of the Watchung Mountains. The very definition of “Everytown, USA”, it is a largely self-contained municipality, most of the residents on a first-name basis. An almost postcard-perfect location.

But something is happening to the children of Garrett Grove.

 I asked Daemon a few questions, and you can read his answers below:

 Q: You've spoken a few times about what The Ojanox series means to you. For interested readers who may have missed it, can you tell us a little bit about how your story and The Ojanox came to be?

A: Just over four years ago, I was serving the final year of my incarceration in a halfway house when COVID hit. We were placed under quarantine lockdown. As everyone was getting sick, dropping like flies around me, I focused my attention on writing, intent to save myself from going crazy. I had a mini word processor and set out to write a short story about Halloween. It turned out to be something much larger. After six months of constant writing, I looked down at a 520k word document that had grown into a beast.

The Ojanox is an homage to everything I loved about horror growing up: old-school creature features of the late 70s and early 80s, coming of age elements, cosmic horror, Halloween and biological horror. These are a few of my favorite things.

But more than that, the Ojanox encompasses the mystery, suspense, and atmosphere of Halloween and all the terrifying novels and movies of that era. There are pieces of my life in this book, inspired by people I have met, things I have seen, and places I have been. To be completely honest, The Ojanox is the story I always wanted to write, need to write, and have finally released.

Q: You did something really unique with the release of this series. They came out in pretty rapid succession. How did you come to that decision?

A: I wrote the entire series all at once over the course of six months. I originally thought it would be a great stand-alone release like The Stand or Swan Song. You know, a massive brick. Then I realized no one would be interested in a 1200-page book from a relatively unknown author. I knew I had to break it up. Even being chopped into four books, two of the installments ended up maxing out close to 400 pages each.

And since it is one continuous story, I also knew I had to get creative with the release of the series. I’m not a fan of waiting a year for book II or III in a series to come out, and since they were already written, I figured, why make people wait at all? By releasing the books just three to four weeks apart, this allows readers to dive into the next book right away.

The Ojanox series takes place over the course of one week, leading up to Halloween in 1979. I have tried to emulate this in the release schedule as well, with all four books leading up to Book IV: Lonesome Mountain coming out on Oct. 1.

Q: What are you working on next?

A: I am working on the final edits of Try Not to Die in Arcranium, a new addition to the TNTD series by Mark Tullius with Vincere Press, which is also a prequel to Arcranium, written by Mark Towse and myself. This will be a ton of fun for fans of either the series or the original story. There are plenty of Easter eggs left throughout with so many exciting ways to live or die in this interactive, choose your own destiny book.

The second project I have is called Deacon, a collection of four short stories and a longer novella. Deacon is a bit of a mind freak. It’s brutal, dark, and metaphysical. Think The Dark Half meets The Walking Dead.

I don't know what there is about this series that you couldn't absolutely love. We all started our love of horror somewhere, and who doesn't love some nostalgia? You can't go wrong with the classics, and Daemon incorporates those classic pieces we love most into this four-book series. You can grab The Ojanox IV: Lonesome Mountain here, and while you're at it, grab the rest of the series! Also, in case you didn't know, Daemon is somewhat of a TikTok celebrity. You can follow his account here.