Oddities and Entities Blog Tour Information:
Meet Roland Allnach
By nature a do-it-yourself type of personality, his creative inclinations started with art and evolved to the written word. The process of creativity is a source of fascination for him, and the notion of bringing something to being that would not exist without personal effort and commitment serves not only as inspiration but as fulfillment as well. So whether it is writing, woodwork, or landscaping, his hands and mind are not often at rest.
Over the years he accumulated a dust laden catalog of his written works, with his reading audience limited to family and friends. After deciding to approach his writing as a profession, and not a hobby, the first glimmers of success came along. Since making the decision to move forward, he has secured publication for a number of short stories, has received a nomination for inclusion in the Pushcart Anthology, built his own website, and in November 2010 realized publication for an anthology of three novellas, titled Remnant, from All Things That Matter Press.
Remnant has gone on to favorable critical review and placed as Finalist/Sci-fi, 2011 National Indie Excellence Awards; Bronze Medalist, Sci-Fi, 2012 Readers Favorite Book of the Year Awards; and Award Winner-Finalist, Sci-Fi, 2012 USA Book News Best Book Awards. Roland’s second publication, Oddities and Entities, also from All Things That Matter Press, followed in March 2012. It, too, has received favorable critical review, and is the recipient of four awards: Bronze Medalist, Horror, and Finalist, Paranormal, 2012 Readers Favorite Book of the Year Awards; Award Winner-Finalist, Fiction/Horror and Fiction/Anthologies, 2012 USA Book News Best Book Awards.
His writing can best be described as depicting strange people involved in perhaps stranger situations. He is not devoted to any one genre of writing. Instead, he prefers to let his stories follow their own path. Classification can follow after the fact, but if one is looking for labels, one would find his stories in several categories.
Sometimes speculative, other times supernatural, at times horror, with journeys into mainstream fiction, and even some humor - or perhaps the bizarre. Despite the category, he aims to depict characters as real on the page as they are in his head, with prose of literary quality. His literary inspirations are as eclectic as his written works - from Poe to Kate Chopin, from Homer to Tolkien, from Flaubert to William Gibson, from Shakespeare to Tolstoy, as long as a piece is true to itself, he is willing to go along for the ride. He hopes to bring the same to his own fiction.
Connect and Socialize with Roland!
Website * Goodreads * Facebook
About Oddities and Entities:
Praise for Oddities and Entities:
About Oddities and Entities:
Oddities and Entities is a surreal, provocative anthology of six tales within the supernatural/ paranormal/horror genres, exploring a definition of life beyond the fragile vessel of the human body. The stories are: ‘Boneview’, in which a young woman struggles to balance her ability to see through people with the presence of a supernatural creature in her life; ‘Shift/Change’, in which a hospital worker struggles to regain his memory as he is confronted by a series of desperate people; ‘My Other Me’, in which a lonely college student finds himself displaced from his body by his alter ego; ‘Gray’, in which a frustrated man is stunned to discover a little creature has been living in his head; ‘Elmer Phelps’, in which a brother and sister find themselves linked in a strange reality by a bat bite in their youth; and lastly, ‘Appendage’, in which a cynical mercenary is hired by his son to protect a research lab on the verge of a stunning discovery.
Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach, categorized as horror fiction, is unlike any other horror fiction I have ever encountered. The book is comprised of six stories, each of which is written a cut above the norm. There are no recognizable monsters in these stories, no sophomoric zombies, no evil ancient vampires, and none of the standard fare I have become accustomed to in the horror genre. I do like the usual run of the horror genre, but this book is written with thoughtful intelligence, for an intelligent adult reader.
I do not mean to imply sexual situations or coarse language. What I mean is, any intelligent reader, capable of deep thought, will find this book irresistible. The six individual stories are as unlike as any six stories can be, yet each one is so sufficiently well-written that, if sold as individual short stories, I wouldn't hesitate to award 5 stars to each of them.
To say I like this book is a crass understatement. Each story drew me in and evoked my empathy for various characters. These stories forced me to actually think beyond what I was reading. Each premise was unique, at least in my experience; I have never encountered any other stories that even approach the situations these present with authority and authenticity.
If I could boil down my perception of this book into a single word, that word would be WOW! Roland Allnach's first anthology, Remnant, which I have also read, was placed as a finalist in the Science Fiction category in the 2011 National Indie Excellence Awards. I absolutely expect Oddities and Entities to follow suit. If you read only one book this year, make it this one. Be prepared to have your comfort zone challenged.
- Readers Favorite (ReadersFavorite.com)
I do not mean to imply sexual situations or coarse language. What I mean is, any intelligent reader, capable of deep thought, will find this book irresistible. The six individual stories are as unlike as any six stories can be, yet each one is so sufficiently well-written that, if sold as individual short stories, I wouldn't hesitate to award 5 stars to each of them.
To say I like this book is a crass understatement. Each story drew me in and evoked my empathy for various characters. These stories forced me to actually think beyond what I was reading. Each premise was unique, at least in my experience; I have never encountered any other stories that even approach the situations these present with authority and authenticity.
If I could boil down my perception of this book into a single word, that word would be WOW! Roland Allnach's first anthology, Remnant, which I have also read, was placed as a finalist in the Science Fiction category in the 2011 National Indie Excellence Awards. I absolutely expect Oddities and Entities to follow suit. If you read only one book this year, make it this one. Be prepared to have your comfort zone challenged.
- Readers Favorite (ReadersFavorite.com)
Purchase your copy from Amazon and Barnes and Noble!
Oddities and Entities Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule
Oddities and Entities Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule
Monday, February 4 – Interview at Examiner
Tuesday, February 5 – Interview at The Writer’s Life
Wednesday, February 6 – Interview at Laurie’s Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
Thursday, February 7 – Guest Blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner
Friday, February 8 – Interview at Books Books the Magical Fruit
Tuesday, February 12 – Guest Blogging at Delphina Reads Too Much
Wednesday, February 13 – Interview at Literarily Speaking
Thursday, February 14 – Interview at Blogcritics
Friday, February 15 – Interview at Book Marketing Buzz
Monday, February 18 – Guest Blogging at Precious Monsters
Tuesday, February 19 – First Chapter Reveal at As the Pages Turn
Wednesday, February 20 – Interview at As the Pages Turn
Thursday, February 21 – First Chapter Reveal at Beyond the Books
Friday, February 22 – Interview at Review From Here
Monday, February 25 – Interview at Pump Up Your Book
Friday, February 28 – Interview at The Book Connection
Monday, March 4 – Book Review at Laurie’s Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
Tuesday, March 5 – Guest Blogging at The Story Behind the Book
Wednesday, March 6 – Interview at Between the Covers
Thursday, March 7 – Book Review and Book Giveaway at Urban Girl Reader
Friday, March 8 – Book Review at Deal Sharing Aunt
Monday, March 11 – Book Review at Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Tuesday, March 12 – Interview at Beyond the Books
Wednesday, March 13 – Guest Blogging at Moonlight Lace & Mayhem
Thursday, March 14 – Guest Blogging at The Paperback Pursuer
Friday, March 15 – First Chapter Reveal at Waiting on Sunday to Drown
Monday, March 18 – Guest Blogging at Bibliophilia, Please
Tuesday, March 19 - Guest Blogging at Fantasy Pages
Tuesday, March 20 – Book Review at Beauty in Ruins
Wednesday, March 20 – Book Review at My Cozy Corner
Thursday, March 21 – Book Review at Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
Thursday, March 21 - Interview at The Writer’s Life
Friday, March 22 – Guest Blogging at Literal Exposure
Monday, March 25 – Interview at Broowaha
Monday, March 25 – Book Review at Must Read Faster
Tuesday, March 26 – Guest Blogging at Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
Friday, March 28 – Guest Blogging at The Top Shelf
Friday, March 28 – Interview at American Chronicle
May you read well and often
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