And this, my friends, brings us up to date! This is an author-specific post just by chance. The last three videos are all by John L. French, so I am posting his bio at the top here:

JOHN L. FRENCH is a retired crime scene supervisor with forty years’ experience. He has seen more than his share of murders, shootings, and serious assaults. As a break from the realities of his job, he started writing science fiction, pulp, horror, fantasy, and, of course, crime fiction. John’s first story “Past Sins” was published in Hardboiled Magazine and was cited as one of the best Hardboiled stories of 1993. More crime fiction followed, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the Fading Shadows magazines and in collections by Barnes and Noble. Association with writers like James Chambers and the late, great C.J. Henderson led him to try horror fiction and to a still growing fascination with zombies and other undead things. His first horror story “The Right Solution” appeared in Marietta Publishing’s Lin Carter’s Anton Zarnak. Other horror stories followed in anthologies such as The Dead Walk and Dark Furies, both published by Die Monster Die Books. It was in Dark Furies that his character Bianca Jones made her literary debut in “21 Doors,” a story based on an old Baltimore legend and a creepy game his daughter used to play with her friends. John’s first book was The Devil of Harbor City, a novel done in the old pulp style. Past Sins and Here There Be Monsters followed. John was also consulting editor for Chelsea House’s Criminal Investigation series. His other books include The Assassins’ Ball (written with Patrick Thomas), Souls on Fire, The Nightmare Strikes, Monsters Among Us, The Last Redhead, the Magic of Simon Tombs, and The Santa Heist (written with Patrick Thomas). John is the editor of To Hell in a Fast Car, Mermaids 13, C. J. Henderson’s Challenge of the Unknown, Camelot 13 (with Patrick Thomas), and (with Greg Schauer) With Great Power … You can find John on Facebook or you can email him at him at jfrenchfam@aol.com.

We hope to have more videos to share with you soon.

John L. French reading an excerpt from his novel Chessie at Bay, Volume 8 in the Systema Paradoxa series, as featured in Cryptid Crate. This is a sneak peek as the book doesn’t release until April 2022, but it is available for pre-order. As a special note about this title, it was written as a special volume for ChessieCon, a local Baltimore convention that takes its name from this cherished cryptid.

John L. French reading a second excerpt from his novel Chessie at Bay.

There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky—or unlucky—few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community. These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others that have always been with us—watching us, fearing us, hunting us. These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.

***

Same ol’ Syn, all new mischief… Just when Theodore Syn starts thinking about sinking roots, the military comes calling, needing a man with his… unique qualifications to deal with a need-to-know problem that’s cropped up in the Chesapeake Bay.

Something is out there, frightening fish and fishermen alike.

But that’s not the real problem. Someone is masquerading as a military official on American soil, and with war on the horizon, steps need to be taken to safeguard the East Coast, before the Axis Powers drive a U-boat—or something more unexpected—right up the mouth of the Bay.

John L. French reading his short story “What Tales He Knows” from The Society For the Preservation of CJ Henderson, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Greg Schauer, a tribute anthology published to raise funds for the iconic author’s family after his passing.  

On July 4th, 2014 the world lost CJ Henderson, an iconic author and all-around great guy. He lost his battle with cancer, but he did not go quietly and he will not be forgotten. His work is immortalized in over 70 novels and works of non-fiction, and at least as many collections, anthologies, and magazines.

In fact, new works by CJ Henderson will publish for years to come thanks to his heroic efforts to finish and find homes for those projects as-yet-unpublished at the time of his illness, two of which are printed here. CJ always did what he could to give other authors a boost. Encouraging them, mentoring them, sending opportunities their way.

With that in mind those of us who called him friend feel there is no better tribute we can raise in his memory than an anthology filled with people he has helped over the years, writing stories inspired by CJ or his work. We hope you enjoy these tales of fantasy, science fiction and horror, and that they might inspire you as well. Featuring stories by: John L. French, Jean Rabe, Patrick Thomas, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jeff Young, Leona Wisoker Robert M. Price, Leona Wisoker, James Chambers, and, as always, CJ Henderson.