Joseph Williams
science fiction - fantasy - horror
Books
To date, I've published ten novels, four short story collections, and one essay. I've included information for all my books below, including those that are currently out of print.
Hallelujah: Exegesis of a Father's Suicide Note
Petulant Child Press, 2020
ISBN-13: 979-8676629915
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Raffaela Schlotter's father has just told her that he planned to kill himself six years ago. He'd had it all planned out, even crafting a lengthy suicide note titled Hallelujah explaining the decision. The only thing that prevented his suicide was the death of her mother a few weeks before the date he'd chosen to end it all. Now, he expects Raffa to smile through a family vacation after he 's shared the contents of his suicide note. As Raffa, her father, and her sister travel the eastern shores of Michigan, Raffa dissects the note as well as the fiction of her mentally ill father in the form of epistles to her late mother. She tries to understand the impact her father's mental health has had on his faith, marriage, parenting, and writing, and how it all relates to her newly awakened depression. As she annotates the manuscript, she worries that her father is on the verge of another suicide attempt and struggles to help him before it's too late.
Analytical: Death and Other Absurdities
Petulant Child Press, 2021
ISBN-13: 979-8518534452
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Analytical is the story of a twenty-seven-year-old data analyst named Doug with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder and acute anxiety. When Doug gets passed over for a promotion, he begins seeing his anima and a giant squid wandering around his office building, threatening to shatter the carefully manufactured normalcy of Corporate America and expose his true, mentally-ill self. The visions escalate until he is confronted by an alien god and its murderous acolytes, who are intent on destroying Doug while they infect his office and his clueless colleagues with their twisted reality. With the help of Jolene from editorial, five dead philosophers (Camus, Sartre, Lewis, Jung, and Huxley), his therapist, his dead sister, and his trusty dog, Daria, Doug takes up the fight to save his office and struggles to answer the question "Why are you alive?" before it’s too late. Analytical delivers a thoughtful, action-packed reflection on the meaning of life as well as the depression and anxiety of millennials in the modern workplace.
Colt
Aidric Publishing, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0692657997
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After years training as a soldier and theologian, Nurisarma has been chosen for sacred trials to determine whether he is worthy to become the immortal being known as Hidria: a holy warrior who carries out the will of the Divine Infinite in the human reality. Now, with a mysterious entity named Colt acting as both his guide and adversary for the vision-quest, Nuri must fight his way through demons, alien armies, and his own crises of faith to find God at the center of the universe. If he succeeds, he will be endowed with greater powers than any creature in the galaxy. If he fails, his life will be forfeit. His only salvation lies in discerning truth from illusion to attain his personal apocalypse, and that means deciding whether Colt is friend or foe.
Origins (Stasik I)
Severed Press, 2013; Aidric Publishing, 2022
ISBN-13: 979-8796383810
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After a disastrous beginning to his first mission, new Aidric Squad recruit Conor Stasik has just broken into an alien research facility where humans are tortured and dissected, but aliens are the least of his problems. Something else is roaming the haunted cell blocks and blood-soaked laboratories, something far more vicious. Within minutes, he finds dozens of human and alien corpses. Hung from ceilings, stuffed into vents, torn apart limb from limb with bite marks from head to toe. Nearly everyone is dead, but that doesn’t stop them from walking. Or biting.
Parin (Stasik II)
Severed Press, 2014; Aidric Publishing, 2022
ISBN-13: 979-8796517727
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Conor Stasik is going insane. His best friend is a zombie, the woman he loves is leaving him to return to the fleet, and an evil god named Parin is slowly turning him into a deranged killer. On top of that, he’s trying to stop a Parin-worshipping cult from spreading a virus that turns corpses into bloodthirsty killing machines. Sprinkle in some man-eating snow monsters, a psychotic clown from another reality, and enemies of humanity at every turn, and he’s bound to crack eventually. The question is, what happens then?
Harvest (Stasik III)
Aidric Publishing, 2022
ISBN-13: 979-8428080254
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Conor Stasik is battered, infected, and far from home. He has left the sea-world of Maberrya and the ambush of the Resistance leaders with little hope, saddled with guilt for the atrocities he has committed and separated from his closest ally, Wendy Sjustrom. Yet he can’t waste time feeling sorry for himself. Enemies are closing in fast and will offer little mercy. He finds himself in a race to turn the fleet’s attention away from the Second Kalak War and stop Parin from unleashing the Lokani Virus on Earth for his bloody Harvest, all while suffering the effects of the psychosis-inducing virus himself. It won’t be easy. After all, who knows what horrors the mad god hides beyond the veil of his altered reality?
Furnace (Furnace I)
Severed Press, 2016; Aidric Publishing, 2021
ISBN-13: 979-8717952842
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On a routine escort mission to a human colony, Lieutenant Michael Chalmers is pulled out of hyper-sleep a month early. The RSA Rockne Hummel is well off course and—as the ship’s navigator—it’s up to him to figure out why. It’s supposed to be a simple fix, but when he attempts to identify their position in the known universe, nothing registers on his scans. Nothing at all. The vessel has catapulted beyond the reach of starlight by at least a hundred trillion light-years. Then a planetary-mass object materializes behind them. It’s burning brightly even without a star to heat it. Hundreds of damaged ships are locked in its orbit, but before the scanners go offline, the crew discovers there are no life-signs aboard any of them. As system failures sweep through the Hummel, neither Chalmers nor the pilot can prevent the vessel from crashing into the surface near a mysterious ancient city. And that’s where the real nightmare begins.
Pit (Furnace II)
Aidric Publishing, 2021
ISBN-13: 979-8717993937
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Following a harrowing experience on the planet Furnace, Crown Representative Elizabeth Gallagher accompanies the former captain of the RSA Rockne Hummel to the prison station Haley Penitentiary, known as the Pit, to begin his life sentence for crimes committed against his crew. Nothing is as it seems in the Pit, however, as prison riots have become the norm and the station's guards, including Yolanda Winterhaven, suspect sabotage. The arrival of the Hummel's captain only increases the inmates' agitation until the entire station is on lockdown and alien prisoners wreak havoc on each cell block. Meanwhile, at the Pluto Research Station, Ishii Kaminari witnesses the arrival of an impossible craft with an enigmatic pilot who spirits her away to the Pit without warning, where she is thrust into a life or death situation in a battle between two supernatural beings. As the three women fight for survival, they must figure out who they can trust, and how to leave the station without any unwanted passengers. Continuing the events of the FURNACE trilogy, PIT is a fun, action-packed ride that sets up the series for an epic conclusion.
Bunyan Undead
Severed Press, 2014 (Out of Print)
ISBN-13: 978-1925047820
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For months, Northern Michigan has been quarantined from the rest of the world. Thousands of zombies roam the shores of Lake Huron. A virus has decimated crops, tainted the water supply, and rendered the local game inedible, making humans the only reliable food source within a hundred miles for the living and undead alike. Short of wiping the Midwestern United States from the face of the Earth, the government doesn't have many options, and the chances of survival for the uninfected are grim. Angus, Marina, Nun, and Haley-four survivors in the quarantine zone with intersecting paths-have plenty to keep them occupied. And then a new evil arrives. His name is Paul Bunyan, and he's about to make things a lot worse.
The Hunt
Severed Press, 2012 (Out of Print)
ISBN-13: 978-0987240095
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After completing her freshman year of college in East Lansing, Doreen Woods returns to her hometown of Northville, Michigan with plenty of problems. A drug-dealer boyfriend who has her hooked on his new product. An alcoholic father who abuses his wife. A history of body image issues. Paralyzing bouts of depression. Cutting. Things are about to get worse. She’s just called her best friend, Katy, to drive her home from a long night of partying, but Katy has other plans for Doreen. Like having her chased by a soul-sucking demon across a nightmarish landscape of haunted forests, endless oceans, and hungry undead, all while experiencing withdrawal from her new drug of choice: the little doctors. But there is more to fear in the shadows than monsters and demons. Doreen soon learns that, when you’re in THE HUNT, nothing is ever what it seems, and there’s only one way out.
Detroit Macabre
Post Mortem Press, 2011 (Out of Print)
ISBN-13: 978-0615479606
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Detroit is the scariest city in America. In this collection of thirteen original horror stories, Joseph Williams shows exactly why. With tales of deranged doctors, serial killers, zombies, vengeful witches, and ghost trains, Williams exposes the terrors of Detroit and the haunted wilderness of Michigan. Read if you dare and with fair warning. If you start now, the nightmares may just be gone by next year.
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"Joseph Williams rolls out a creepy and subversive collection of tales in DETROIT MACABRE. Offbeat and disturbingly delicious.” - Jonathan Maberry, Stoker Award-winner and NY Times Bestselling author of The King of Plagues, Patient Zero, and Dust and Decay
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"From Cobo Hall to the Cass Corridor, Joseph Williams knows Detroit and the voices of the damned that haunt its alleyways. In prose that never flinches, DETROIT MACABRE maps the Motor City's darkest heart, and in the process, holds a fractured mirror to our own worst nightmares." - Joe Schreiber, NY Times Bestselling author of Star Wars: Death Troopers, and No Doors, No Windows
Swinging from Stars: Stories Inspired by the Music of Tea Leaf Green
Post Mortem Press, 2012 (Out of Print)
ISBN-13: 978-0615631455
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In SWINGING FROM STARS, Joseph Williams takes fifteen career spanning songs from Tea Leaf Green and uniquely adapts them into a variety of genres, from Barnyard Romance and Western to Fantasy and Psychological Horror. Fans of the band and newcomers alike will enjoy Williams' interpretations and deliberate twists of these beloved songs. San Francisco band Tea Leaf Green has earned recognition for their songwriting by tapping deeply into the American landscape in the tradition of John Steinbeck and Bob Dylan. Tea Leaf Green is an award-winning band from San Francisco featuring Josh Clark, Trevor Garrod, Reed Mathis, Cochrane McMillan, and Scott Rager. Blending bits of rock, folk, jazz, and blues, the band has carved a name for themselves with their rich songwriting and outstanding live shows. To date, they have recorded seven studio albums, the most recent of which (Radio Tragedy!) garnered widespread critical acclaim upon its release in 2011.
Timbers of Fennario: Stories Inspired by the Music of Grateful Dead
Post Mortem Press, 2013 (Out of Print)
ISBN-13: 978-0615797243
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GRATEFUL DEAD is one of the most iconic American bands of the past century. Through thirty years of relentless touring and dozens of albums, the group earned a reputation for their unique live shows and the eclectic, improvisational nature of their music. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement, played in front of the Pyramids of Giza, and were listed as one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Recently, their performance from May 8th, 1977 was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry for being culturally relevant to the history of the United States. The band has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide.
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In TIMBERS OF FENNARIO, author Joseph Williams adapts eighteen beloved Grateful Dead songs into short stories in a variety of genres. Fans of the band and newcomers alike will enjoy Williams’ interpretations of these songs and their connection to the mysterious land of Fennario, a place as enchanting as it is heartbreaking. Stories include Terrapin Station, Weather Report Suite, Hell in a Bucket, Dark Star, and more.
Justify the Thrill: Stories Inspired by the Music of Blues Traveler
Post Mortem Press, 2015 (Out of Print)
ISBN-13: 978-0692381755
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BLUES TRAVELER is a Grammy Award winning rock band from Princeton, New Jersey. By combining bits of blues, rock, pop, funk, and jazz, BLUES TRAVELER has managed a rare balance as both a live juggernaut with a harmonica virtuoso and a studio wizard producing classic albums such as Four and Suzie Cracks the Whip. Since its formation in 1987, the band has sold over 10 million albums, performed more than 2,000 live shows, held the Billboard record for longest-charting single, appeared in several feature films, and founded the legendary music festival H.O.R.D.E. In JUSTIFY THE THRILL, Joseph Williams adapts fifteen BLUES TRAVELER songs into short stories across a variety of genres, from heartbreaking westerns and weird science fiction to creature horror and dark fantasy.