If you’re in the mood for some seasonably-spooky reading material this fall, Sudburian Jeremy Dunton (who writes under the pen name Jeremy John) has an option for you.
Dunton releases his second book, “The Strange Grave of Mikey Dunbar: And Other Stories to Make You Poop Your Pants,” this week.
A virtual reading promoting the book takes place Sept. 30. The in-person Sudbury launch for his book takes place from 7-11 p.m. Oct. 1 at 46 North Brewery.
Dunton, who works in sales but writes for fun, explains that he got into short story writing through a Christmas tradition.
Every year, since he was a little kid, he’d write a Christmas story and share it with his family on Boxing Day.
That collection of stories was turned into his first book, “Robert’s Hill: (Or the Time I Pooped My Snowsuit) and Other Christmas Stories.” The Christmas book was released by Dundurn Press in December 2021.
In promoting the book, Dunton said he did readings at schools, as well as some brainstorming and creative writing exercises with the kids.
“And strangely enough, many of the stories ended up having zombies or monsters or ghosts in,” he said.
“So when book one was done, Durdurn (his publisher) asked if I had any thoughts on Book Two, and I suggested that maybe a book of short Halloween stories would be the way to go since I already had a couple kind of already drafted out from those visits for students.”
Dunton said the spooky stories in the book include one about a father-and-daugther vampire duo, a poem about the “worst kind of ghosts that could haunt your house,” and classic tales about a mummy and a sasquatch.
As far as Mikey Dunbar and what makes his grave so strange, Dunton said the grave is on the grounds of an old pub, and contains the words “buy me a drink.” All of the regulars are in the habit of pouring the last swallow of beer onto Mikey’s grave.
“There's actually four versions of the strange grave of Mikey Dunbar in the book,” he said.
“Each one tells you the origin of these strange facets of Mikey and each one purports to be the truth. Now, they can't of course all be the truth. So it's up to the reader to decide which one they think is the most likely.”
Dunton said he’s already spoken to his publisher about a future book. While he’s not sure of the subject, he does want to include the word “poop” in the title. “We've all agreed we like the phrase poop trilogy,” he said.
He said he can “hardly wait” for the launch of his latest book.
For the occasion of the 46 North launch, Dunton said he’s actually built a small tombstone with a drain so his guests can actually pour the last sip of their drinks on Mikey’s grave. “I’m a huge nerd,” he said.
Dunton’s books are available for purchase through Dundurn Press’ website or through Indigo.
