John Chrostek
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johnchrostek.com
John Chrostek
@johnchrostek.com
2.4K followers 1.8K following 2.6K posts
FEAST OF THE PALE LEVIATHAN, novel: https://shorturl.at/WeXfh
BOXCUTTERS, short stories: https://malarkeybooks.com/store/boxcutters

Co-owner @eveninghouse.bsky.social
EIC @cold-signal.com
Buffalo, NY
johnchrostek.com
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johnchrostek.com
she gave us the mission in plain English (as always)
My family, my agent, my editors know that my being here is their doing as well as mine, and that the beautiful reward is theirs as much as mine. And I rejoice in accepting it for, and sharing it with, all the writers who were excluded from literature for so long, my fellow authors of Fantasy and Science Fiction, writers of the imagination, who for the last 50 years watched the beautiful rewards go to the so-called Realists. I think hard times are coming when we will be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now and can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of Being, and even imagine some real grounds for hope We will need writers who can remember freedom, poets, visionaries -- the realists of a larger reality. Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing -- Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximize corporate profit and advertising revenue is not quite the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship. Yet, I see sales departments given control over editorial. I see my own publishers in a silly panic of ignorance and greed, charging public libraries for an e-book six or seven times more than they charge customers. We just saw a profiteer try to punish a publisher for disobedience and writers threatened by corporate fatwa. And I see a -- a lot of us, the producers who write the books and make the books, accepting this: letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant, and tell us what to publish and what to write. Well -- Audience Member: Love you. Le Guin: Well, I love you too, darling. Books, you know, they’re -- they're not just commodities. The profit motive often is in conflict with the aims of art. We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art: the art of words. I have had a long career and a good one; in good company. Now here, at the end of it, I really don’t want to watch American literature get sold down the river. We who live by writing and publishing want and should demand our fair share of the proceeds. But the name of our beautiful reward is not profit: Its name is freedom. Thank you.
November 20, 2025 at 7:37 PM
johnchrostek.com
find the book wherever books are found!

(and if you don't mind, please review it + spreading the word to other horror readers, weird fic fans, people who hate Thomas Hobbes, people looking for weird oceanic body horror, cult stories, surreal dreams and hate the Big Old Machine Eating Us All)
8bit cultists saying "You don't need to be a cultist to agree that FEAST OF THE PALE LEVIATHAN is one of 2025's zestiest horror debuts!"
November 19, 2025 at 10:33 PM
johnchrostek.com
bjork from her "its oh so quiet" music video, people dancing behind her in the sunny street
November 17, 2025 at 3:41 PM
johnchrostek.com
AMAZING NEWS!!!!!!!

Last night I got a call from Jeff, or as his friends call him, Mr. Bezos. He said that Amazon is HUNGRY for good PR and good stories! His team saw #TheCandler trending and told me that with #AI technology we can make this DREAM A REALITY!!!

COMING SOON: AMAZON'S #THECANDLER!!
really incredible movie poster for The Candler "James Bond died and is in hell now. We Can't do another bond movie until he comes back to life. There's only one man we can trust to BRING BOND HOME Timothee Chalamet is THE CANDLER" Timothee is in the classic The Candler garb, in his sleepy pajamas and holding his iconic candle. In the background, hell. You can see Bond having his face removed by a demon."
November 13, 2025 at 12:29 AM
johnchrostek.com
We doing first sentences on main?

1. FEAST OF THE PALE LEVIATHAN
2. BOXCUTTERS (finding the joy)
November 12, 2025 at 6:16 PM
johnchrostek.com
Let’s face facts: James Bond is dead. No one will accept him coming back to life unless someone fetches him from hell. It’s time for a new iconic British male film role to define our 21st century: The Candler.

The Candler is the only one who can go to hell, find Bond and bring him home
November 11, 2025 at 8:49 PM
johnchrostek.com
“It’s not normally in the British Government’s interests to seek out untested talent for such a sensitive mission, but there’s never been a greater need, Jack Wax.”

“Please, Q. I left that name behind in yesterday’s nightmares. Call me…. The Candler.”
November 11, 2025 at 8:32 PM
johnchrostek.com
This is what I’m picturing for the Candler
November 11, 2025 at 8:18 PM
johnchrostek.com
Happy birthday to the coolest of the cool. Can’t imagine my life without him as a guiding star
Kurt Vonnegut
November 11, 2025 at 6:57 PM
johnchrostek.com
I think it’s time for the air conditioner to come out
November 10, 2025 at 11:09 PM
johnchrostek.com
okay my grumpy ass has finally settled on a 2025 year in review/eligibility graphic. I have been a furious little literary badger this year desperately clawing at art from all angles. Any interest/support/awards consideration for this work (mine + Cold Signal contributors) is so appreciated
john chrostek 2025 year review debut novel- feast of the pale leviathan (nautical horror/dark fantasy/weird adventure) Collection- Boxcutters (satire, absurdism, lit fic, horror and fantastika) Editor- Cold Signal, Issue three: Underworld (the weird, the beautiful, the mad and the free) Short Fiction: "The Great Dark" -Twin Pies Literary "Inclement Weather" - Hex Literary "The Wall-Hole" - Self Published Thank you for your consideration!
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
johnchrostek.com
snowvember
November 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
johnchrostek.com
As a debut indie author, I’m really grateful to have found the readers I have with these two books. Would be honored to have them considered alongside 2025’s other great new releases!
November 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM
johnchrostek.com
Tomorrow is Amanda and I’s eleventh anniversary!! We’re spending it like we’ve spent almost every Saturday this year: working together in the bookstore we’ve always dreamed of running one day + that day’s here. There are never enough words for what they mean to me ❤️
November 7, 2025 at 11:53 PM
johnchrostek.com
Manning the shop this rainy November Friday
Rainy neon street sign in Downtown Buffalo
November 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
johnchrostek.com
This new review of FEAST from a kind stranger hyped me up and reminded me “more ideas than time to breathe” is the high I’m always chasing
November 7, 2025 at 4:53 AM
johnchrostek.com
Upping this again bc I’m in a good mood. FEAST is a Weird Horror adventure about carving our way out of the belly of the beast together. The ebook is pay what you want. Physical sales obviously always appreciated, but I want people struggling to have access to this thing above everything else.
November 5, 2025 at 6:21 PM
johnchrostek.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:29 AM
johnchrostek.com
This is Vin's way of letting people know he's gonna make a live-action FEAST OF THE PALE LEVIATHAN movie
November 3, 2025 at 7:32 PM
johnchrostek.com
Indie publishing can sap at your sense of self (it never feels like you’re doing enough even when you’re massively spread thin) but good reviews can make it all feel worthwhile
November 1, 2025 at 9:25 PM
johnchrostek.com
There was a period back in the Twitter days where I realized I was getting uselessly angry at other people and stepped away for a while. I came back to it a better man who typed out less angry responses to bullshit, but these days I feel that dark impulse returning...
October 31, 2025 at 6:27 PM
johnchrostek.com
anyway, until I get vanished, please read my books
October 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
johnchrostek.com
the extremely cool reactions to my post have begun
October 29, 2025 at 4:55 PM
johnchrostek.com
this review got me in the gut and the heart
Ivy’s Goodreads review of FEAST: “What a crazy ride this is! I hate to give too much away, because I went into it not knowing what would happen, and all the surprises kept me flipping the pages quickly. Lots of historical and philosophical references here, though it is foremost a fantastical action-adventure tale, with very strange settings (like splashing around in the stomach acid of a beast) and lively bits of mythology. The story also examines class warfare and family drama resulting from social striving in unique and fascinating ways. There's a real beating heart at the center of it. Lovely, strong prose, too.”
October 28, 2025 at 7:42 PM
johnchrostek.com
Can’t believe this is out there now, but so it goes.

Look, do I regret the tattoo? Sure. Especially the spelling errors (lol.)

Do I agree with it anymore? Absolutely not

In fact I’m getting it covered up with some ink blot work this week
October 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM