Horror, Queerdo, Spiral
NYC born & raised J. Daniel Stone writes urban horror with a queer focus. He sold his first short story when he was 22-years-old and has since published 3 novels, 1 collection of dark fiction, and 1 collaborative novella. His books have been called "fierce" and "dark and sensuous" and "lush ultraviolence like that of 90's-era horror" by writers such as Kathe Koja, Josh Malerman and John FD Taff, as well as legendary horror outlets Rue Morgue, HorrorNews.net and Fangoria.
Throughout his life, J. Daniel Stone has prepared bodies for the morgue, was nicknamed the devil, set a park on fire, captured insects and made them battle to the death, ghost hunted, and refereed fights between raccoons and street cats . Deviance still remains a prime interest. He continues to write, read, dabble in magick, stargaze, and spend way too much money on books.
He writes under a pseudonym to keep the wolves at bay.
“Language is a virus. Artists are the real architects of change.”
— William S. Burroughs
Novels by J. Daniel Stone
"This book to me became instantly important because it represents the power of so-called 'outsider' fiction and it is with this power that this book will call its' readers home."
—Drunk in a Graveyard
"The Absence of Light is lush and lyrical...a jangled and disturbing book that seeks to transcend through rituals and incantations. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants dark prose that seeks to transgress boundaries."
—Hellnotes
". . . one part ghost story, one part alternative lifestyle exploration that explores the themes of identity, loss, and the power of art through poetic language."
—Fanboy Comics
“Blood Kiss is a powerful book that sticks with you. Stone captures the outsider energy that attracted so many of us to not just watch and read horror, but make it a lifestyle.”
—Rue Morgue
"So many fierce images, so immediate and propulsive! There's huge energy in Blood Kiss."
—Kathe Koja, author of The Cipher and Christopher Wild
"Blood Kiss is refreshing as hell. In a field where most are trying to out-thrill one another, Stone is riffing, philosophizing, writing ... out loud."
—Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box
"A voice like no other new writer I've read. JDS will make you believe that art has a life of its own—dark and dreadful."
—Bram Stoker-Nominated Author John F.D. Taff
“Blood Kiss will goddamn bloody well disturb you. It is a paradoxically lovely read."
—Fangoria"
“J. Daniel Stone writes with a razor blade."
—John C. Foster, author of Mister White
"J. Daniel Stone is the most passionate writer working now. Drag Horror? You bet, and in his hands, it's hot, artistic and viscerally terrifying."
—John F.D. Taff, Bram Stoker Award-Nominated Author of The Fearing and Little Black Spots.
"Part nightmare, part wet dream, Stations of Shadow is as beautiful as it is dangerous."
—Paul Witcover, author of Waking Beauty and The Emperor of All Things
"I fully expect to see this author winning literary prizes in the future, and if they do, they will be fully deserved.
—Lady Jaguar
"There are surely few people more qualified to deliver jet black poetic tales from the shadowy streets of the Big Apple than J. Daniel Stone."
—This Is Horror
“Wildly inventive and dazzlingly transgressive, Stone’s writing is imbued with a unique, otherworldly fire that will have you both terrified and mesmerized during those revelations.”
-Rue Morgue
“Stations of Shadow is not your regular cliche supernatural horror story. The vivid scenes make the story come alive before your eyes.”
-RainbowReviewss
“Fully dark as is his other work [but] feels like the book he needed to write."
—Kathe Koja
"Daubed in Darkness a drug-fueled exploration of contrasts and contradictions, as authentic as it is transgressive, anchored by the author’s trademark haunting prose and uncanny ability to capture the untold dichotomies of the New York underground.”
—Vince A. Liaguno
"An exquisite exploration of that thin line between artistic passion and madness."
—Mark Allan Gunnells
"As dazzling as it is destructive, as appealing as it is repellent, the love triangle at the heart of this tale is laden with evocative prose that’ll play with your senses like the drugs ingested by the artists and performers who occupy these pages, whisked, it seems, straight from the mysterious world beneath New York City’s streets."
—Nick Medina
"Daubed in Darkness is a pandemic-scarred joyride through the myriad bloody and pumping arteries of the New York City queer underground. In this urban phantasmagorical of love and pain and pleasure and regret, J. Daniel Stone delivers all the dark magic and terror of what happens when art comes alive. This book is alive."
—Robert Levy
Short Story Collection and Collaborative Novella by J. Daniel Stone
“J. Daniel Stone's vibrant and harrowing first short-story collection features powerful distillations of dark prowess, covering an insanely diverse thematic and atmospheric range. A rising voice and pure creative force with which to be reckoned."
— Rue Morgue
"J. Daniel Stone easily crafts really potent descriptions of characters [and settings]. It's rare for most artists and especially rare in writers."
—Drunk in a Graveyard
"Only a group of psychopaths would assemble a book such as this. Bloody brilliant, and beautifully executed. Taste this."
—Michael Bailey, Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD
"Tour de force."
—This Is Horror
"A smorgasbord of speculative fiction for readers that appreciate the darker things in life. I can highly recommend this fine book. It is another winner from Grey Matter Press."
—Gingernuts of Horror