Tell us what your book, “Necromancers Don't Read Toe Tags,” is about!
Sure! Here’s the summary:
Necromancers Don't Read Toe Tags is a supernatural horror novel and dark comedy set in Rookford, a fictional Midwestern city where corruption, institutional secrecy, and the supernatural have become uncomfortably intertwined.
As increasingly bizarre events expose the community's hidden arrangements, the boundary between the living and the dead becomes considerably less important than the question of who benefits from keeping certain truths buried.
Combining noir fiction, absurdist humor, and supernatural horror, the novel explores the elaborate lengths people will go to in order to preserve a comfortable lie.
What did you love most about writing this book?
The freedom to create an entire community whose peculiar logic makes perfect sense to its inhabitants, even when it looks completely insane to everyone else.
I've always been fascinated by the relationship between horror and comedy. Both genres depend on exposing something uncomfortable about the world. Sometimes the difference between a terrifying revelation and a hilarious one is simply the angle from which you observe it.
Rookford gave me an opportunity to exaggerate the absurdities of institutional power, civic corruption, and human self-deception until the supernatural elements began to seem almost reasonable by comparison.
I particularly enjoyed creating characters who could rationalize practically anything. There's something both funny and frightening about people who can explain away the most monstrous behavior while remaining convinced of their own decency.
How did you start writing?
I began writing seriously as a young man in northern Illinois, drawn to experimental poetry, underground literature, and the independent publishing movement.
My first book was published by Bradley Seidman's Press of the Third Mind, which introduced me to a literary world operating largely outside conventional publishing institutions. That experience helped shape my understanding of what literature could be and how it could reach readers.
I eventually founded Zombie Logic Press and Zombie Logic Review, publishing poetry, fiction, and experimental writing by myself and other authors.
More than thirty years later, I'm still exploring new forms and subjects. I've written poetry, haiku, satire, literary fiction, and horror. I've never believed that writers should have to remain within a single genre.
Tell us a little bit about your self-publishing experience.
I've been involved in independent publishing for more than three decades, beginning long before contemporary print-on-demand platforms made it relatively easy to produce and distribute books.
I founded Zombie Logic Press because I wanted to publish unconventional literature without waiting for approval from traditional publishing institutions. Over the years, I've worked as a writer, editor, publisher, and collaborator, learning nearly every aspect of bringing a book into existence.
More recently, I co-founded Wolf Twin Books, an independent publishing venture dedicated to poetry, fiction, and collaborative artistic projects. Our publications include Vanished Roads, a poetry collection featuring illustrations by my longtime creative partner, Tré.
I believe self-publishing is most rewarding when approached as a serious publishing practice rather than simply a shortcut around traditional gatekeepers. Editorial judgment, thoughtful design, and respect for readers matter regardless of how a book reaches the marketplace.
Independent publishing gives me the freedom to create books that don't necessarily fit established commercial categories. That's a freedom I've valued throughout my career.
What was your biggest challenge in bringing the book to market, and how did you solve it?
The greatest challenge wasn't producing the book. After more than thirty years in independent publishing, I'm familiar with the practical work involved in editing, designing, and distributing literature. The real challenge was finding an audience for a novel that doesn't fit neatly into a single commercial category.
Necromancers Don't Read Toe Tags combines supernatural horror, noir fiction, absurdist comedy, and social satire. Marketing algorithms tend to prefer books that resemble other books, while I've always been more interested in creating something distinctive.
My approach has been to embrace independent promotion: reaching out to readers, participating in author interviews, experimenting with promotional campaigns, and building connections with people who appreciate unconventional fiction.
I wouldn't claim to have solved the problem of discoverability. I think it's an ongoing challenge for nearly every independent writer. But I've learned that persistence, creativity, and a willingness to experiment are more useful than waiting for a single breakthrough.
What's one piece of advice you have for other writers?
Don't confuse the business of being a writer with the act of writing.
Publication, promotion, reviews, and recognition can consume enormous amounts of time and attention. But none of those activities will make you a better writer unless you continue doing the actual work.
Finish things. Revise them. Send them out. Then write something else.
I've been doing this for more than thirty years, and I still believe the most important principle is the simplest: Reps rule.
Anything else you want folks to know?
Although Necromancers Don't Read Toe Tags is a horror novel, I'm also a poet and longtime small-press publisher. I founded Zombie Logic Press and Zombie Logic Review and co-founded Wolf Twin Books, an independent publishing venture devoted to unconventional literature and artistic collaboration.
My recent poetry collection, Vanished Roads, features illustrations by my longtime creative partner, Tré. I also collaborate with artists and photographers on projects that bring poetry into galleries and public spaces.
I believe independent literature is worth supporting because it makes room for voices, ideas, and experiments that might otherwise never reach readers.
You can learn more about my books and other projects at https://www.thomaslvaultonburg.com/
Where can people find your book?
