Cemetery Dance Breaking News

New Alan Clark Art Prints for Riding the Bullet by Stephen King & Mick Garris!

We're pleased to report that Alan M. Clark is offering beautiful art prints of two more images from Riding the Bullet by Stephen King and Mick Garris, including the "double" cover and a previously unshown two page color spread:

Click on the link below to read more and to see the other three Stephen King art prints we're offering again for a very limited time only! All of these prints are being produced using photo archival ink on heavy archival paper -- perfect for the collector! Pick out your favs and then hurry up and grab the ones you want ASAP because we won't have them forever!

(Since this is another publisher's item, we have to charge our usual shipping fees. No coupons, discounts, Gift Certificates, Savings Certificates, or store credit of any kind can be used on this special offer due to the low discount we'll be receiving.)

The Exorcist and Legion by William Peter Blatty is now 522 pages thanks to the addition of nearly a dozen interior pieces of artwork by Keith Minnion. Samples of Keith's beautiful drawings have been posted in the Free Extras section of the website.

The San Francisco Book Review on Hell Hollow by Ronald Kelly:
"There’s something enrapturing about a story involving some kids who are heroes that save the day. It reminds us of times when we were young, going out on fantasy adventures in our own little worlds. Hell Hollow is one of those stories set in the rural town of Harmony, Tennessee. The secret of the evil of Hell Hollow has been hidden and forcibly forgotten by its residents for a long time, until it is awakened and will involve four bored kids looking for some excitement during their summer. Then there is the killer who has yet to be captured, on the run from the law, continuing to mercilessly kill, and the rape victim who is on a specific mission. All of these characters will play a part in Ronald Kelly’s Hell Hollow. Kelly uses a descriptive, colorful writing style that matches the tone and plot of the book, keeping you hooked."

The Baryon Review on Halloween: New Poems edited by Al Sarrantonio:
"Sarrantonio and Cemetery Dance have put together another unique collection that will be of interest to lovers of poetry and horror. This collection is one that will be of interest at times other than Halloween. Pick this one up before it goes out of print and keep it on the shelf next to The Devil's Wine, if you were fortunate enough to obtain the other landmark volume of poetry from Cemetery Dance."

Rue Morgue on Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King by Hans-Ake Lilja
"No matter which format you ultimately seek it out in, Lilja's Library remains an essential read for any King fan."

And here's what Frank Darabont, screenwriter and director of The Shawshank Redemption, had to say about the book:
"Hans-Ake Lilja, the most dedicated Stephen King fan I know, takes the reader on a joyous, wide-ranging journey through King’s world and influence. Part scholarly in its approach, but in greater part a fan's love letter to King, it is an absolute must for the Stephen King completist."

In other news, The Crane House is ready for the printer and is just waiting on the signature sheets, which are still circulating. Based on the authors' scheduled, we hope to have those done by the end of spring, but we'll let you know when we have a firm date. It could be sooner with a little luck.

Death Hunt on Ervoon (formally called Vespix) is ready for the printer and is just waiting on Ray to finish with the signature sheets. As soon as that's done, we'll get it lined up for the printer.

We received The Girl on the Glider manuscript from Brian Keene last month and it is off to the copyeditor. Keith Minnion will begin work on the artwork as soon as his schedule allows.

And finally, we're very pleased to report that several Cemetery Dance titles that are scheduled for 2010 (but were reviewed late last year) made Shroud Magazine's 20 Recommended Reads of 2009.

There will be a lot more news coming soon! Keep watching your inbox for updates!

THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA (Deluxe Slipcased Artist Edition)
by Stephen King
Featuring Michael Whelan's thirteen full color plates and over 23 black & white designs!

We're very pleased to report that we'll be getting some copies of Donald M. Grant's Deluxe Slipcased Artist Edition of The Little Sisters of Eluria by Stephen King, but we know these won't last long! Read on for details!

This is our introduction to Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger, published by Donald M. Grant in The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger in 1982.

Twenty years later Stephen King revised and expanded this volume. In his own words: "What I did want to do was to give newcomers to the tale of the Tower (and old readers who want to refresh their memories) a clearer start and a slightly easier entry into Roland’s world. I also wanted them to have a volume that more effectively foreshadowed coming events."

This special new volume contains that expanded version of The Gunslinger as well as the novella The Little Sisters of Eluria, which chronicles an earlier adventure of Roland's as he persued the Man in Black. Published in a larger format than the Dark Tower series which enhances Michael Whelan’s thirteen full color plates and over twenty three black & white designs.

This 4,000 copy Artist Edition is numbered and is signed by Michael Whelan. It is issued in a foil stamped slipcase.

Please Note: According to the publisher, Michael Whelan did drawings on 30 to 50 of the signature pages when he was signing them. If you receive one of these copies be aware that the value of these books are probably in excess of $1,000, as copies of the Artist Edition of THE DARK TOWER VII in which Michael made similar drawings sold on ebay or to collectors for over $1,200 each. Donald M. Grant expects that most of these copies will remain undiscovered for years as many collectors never take the shrink wrap off their books.

(Since this is another publisher's book and it is larger tban normal, we have to charge $10 for UPS Ground Insured shipping. No coupons, discounts, Gift Certificates, Savings Certificates, or store credit can be used on this special offer due to the low discount we'll be receiving.)

Danse Macabre (2010 Reprint Edition)
by Stephen King
Featuring the brand new essay "What's Scary" by Stephen King!

Publisher: Pocket Books
Format #1: Trade Paperback, $17.00
Format #2: Audio CD, $29.99

About the Book:
Long before he gave us "a one-of-a-kind classic" (The Wall Street Journal) with his bestselling memoir On Writing, Stephen King crafted a nonfiction masterpiece in Danse Macabre, "one of the best books on American popular culture" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

The author whose boundless imagination and storytelling powers have redefined the horror genre, from 1974's Carrie to his new epic Under the Dome, reflects on the very nature of terror — what scares us and why — in films (both cheesy and choice), television and radio, and, of course, the horror novel, past and present.

Informal, engaging, tremendous fun, and tremendously informative, Danse Macabre is an essential tour with the master of horror as your guide; much like his spellbinding works of fiction, you won't be able to put it down.

This new trade paperback edition also features a brand new long essay entitled "What's Scary" by Stephen King, in which the King of Horror shares his deepest fears with the world.

(Since this is another publisher's book, we have to charge our regular shipping fees. No coupons, discounts, Gift Certificates, Savings Certificates, or store credit can be used on this special offer due to the low discount we'll be receiving.)

Scott Snyder and Stephen King to write a new horror comic book series, AMERICAN VAMPIRE!
Stephen King's debut with Vertigo/DC Comic and his first original comic book writing!

"I love vampire stories, and the idea of following the dark exploits of a uniquely American vampire really lit up my imagination."
-- Stephen King

Celebrated short story writer Scott Snyder and artist Rafael Albuquerque are launching a new comic book series from Vertigo with a unique contribution from New York Times bestselling novelist Stephen King.

The new ongoing series, AMERICAN VAMPIRE, will introduce readers to a new breed of vampire-a more muscular and vicious species of vampire with distinctly American characteristics.

Snyder's storyline is one of decadence and deception and Jazz Age glamour. Pearl is an ambitious modern woman with starlet dreams. She frequents Hollywood's speakeasies and dance-halls searching for her first big break, only to find something far more sinister waiting for her.

King's story provides the origin of the very first American vampire: Skinner Sweet, a bank robbing, murdering cowboy of the 1880s. Skinner is stronger and faster than previous vampires; he has rattlesnake fangs and is powered by.... the sun?

Following the conclusion of the first story arc, Snyder and Albuquerque will trace Skinner's bloodline through various decades of American history.

The first issues will be collected together in a single hardcover volume, which we're pleased to be selling through our online store today.

(Since this is another publisher's book, we have to charge our normal shipping rates. No coupons, discounts, Gift Certificates, Savings Certificates, or store credit of any kind can be used on this special offer due to the low discount we'll be receiving.)

Last year, several customers placed custom artwork orders through us for the “Glenn Chadbourne Haunts Your House” and “Your Zombie Family Portraits” by Glenn Chadbourne promotions. Everyone was thrilled with the results and we wanted to show off just a few samples of what Glenn came up with. Some customers ask Glenn to mix and match the ideas, so there were a few Haunted Families and Zombie Houses, etc. All in all, everyone had a ton of fun with these promotional offers.

Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 1: Captain Trips
It all begins here: the epic apocalyptic battle between good and evil. On a secret army base in the Californian desert, something has gone horribly, terribly wrong. Something will send Charlie Campion, his wife and daughter fleeing in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for the Campion family, and the rest of America, they are unaware that all three of them are carrying a deadly cargo: a virus that will spread from person to person like wildfire, triggering a massive wave of disease and death, prefacing humanity's last stand. (read more or place your order)

Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares
The deadly super flu Captain Trips has devastated the country and now the few survivors must pick up the pieces and go on. Larry Underwood seeks escape from New York City. Lloyd contemplates an extremely unsavory dinner option in jail, and Stu Redman makes a desperate bid for freedom from his interrogators. Most ominous of all, the strange being called Randall Flagg continues his dread journey across the devastated landscape of America. (read more or place your order)

Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
A horrified Steven Deschain learns that the deadly seeing sphere called Maerlyn's Grapefruit has been stolen from his chambers! Far worse, when he enters his wife's room to arrest her for the theft, his son Roland is standing over her body with a gun in his hand. The youngest gunslinger has perhaps committed the most hideous crime of all! Continuing the epic saga based on the best-selling Dark Tower novels bythe master Stephen King. (read more or place your order)

The Talisman: The Road of Trials
Jack Sawyer is about to learn some hard truths-about his father's death, about why he and his mother are on the run from his sinister Uncle Morgan, and about the real nature of the mysterious realm he once called The Daydreams. Now, with help from his newfound friend Speedy Parker, he will reclaim his identity as Travellin Jack and make his first foray back into The Territories. There, where monsters lurk and an unbelievably precious prize awaits, Jack must embark upon a desperate quest to save his mother's life and fulfill an inescapable destiny. (read more or place your order)

(No coupons, discounts, Gift Certificates, Savings Certificates, or store credit of any kind can be used to purchase these items due to the low discount we'll be receiving.)

A great new hardcover from Dark Horse!

About the Book:
A circus performer terrorized by mysterious powers from beyond . . . a jade idol of a monkey that carries a curse on a South Pacific island drives a man to the brink of madness . . . an art gallery haunted by paintings that come to life at night . . . a dictator who sees enemies around every corner, but who can't see the threat right before his eyes.

For nearly twenty years, the comic-book series Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery wove stories of intrigue, suspense, and macabre drama.

Hosted by renowned actor Boris Karloff, the comic featured contributions from some of comics history's most well-known creators: Alex Toth, Joe Orlando (EC artist and editor), Mike Sekowsky (Justice League of America artist), Frank Thorne, José Luis García-López, Arnold Drake, Len Wein (co-creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine), Al Williamson, Jerry Robinson (creator of the Joker), Dan Spiegle, and many others.

* Originally published by Gold Key and unavailable for three decades, more than thirty spine-chilling stories are compiled in a new collection.

* Features a new introduction by Boris Karloff's daughter Sara Karloff

Click here to read more or to place your order!

(Since this is another publisher's book, we have to charge our normal shipping rates. No coupons or discounts or credit of any kind can be used on this special offer due to the low discount we'll be receiving other than the discount in this newsletter, which is for this weekend only.)

Lettered Edition of Four Ghosts (Straub, Hill, Garton, and Burke) Now Available!

Four Ghosts
Featuring Peter Straub, Joe Hill, Ray Garton, and Kealan Patrick Burke

About the Book:
Four Ghosts is a special anthology of classic ghost stories by four of our favorite authors: Peter Straub, Joe Hill, Ray Garton, and Kealan Patrick Burke.

The signed Limited Edition of this very special book is already SOLD OUT and OUT OF PRINT before publication. It will never be available to the general public: no dealers, no wholesalers, no bookstores, no direct sales, no individual copy sales. Only Cemetery Dance Book Club 3.0 members will receive this very exciting NOT FOR SALE signed Limited Edition when it is published next year and there are NO MORE additional memberships available. We've offered Not For Sale books before, but there has always been the understanding the book might be republished down the road. With this book, we can tell you right now: IT WILL NEVER SEE PRINT AGAIN!

As we mentioned in the Book Club announcement, there will also be a deluxe traycased Lettered Edition of this title. That special edition is now available for sale to the first 52 collectors who place an order, but after those copies sell, the book will never be reprinted again. Not as a trade edition, not as a paperback, not as an eBook. Once these copies sell, no one else will ever be able to get a brand new copy direct from the publisher!

Place your order today so you don't miss out!

Follow Us on Twitter and/or Facebook to Recieve Exclusive Updates and Special Offers!

There are a lot of different ways to get news and updates out there, and although this mailing list and our Breaking News page will always be our first method, we also wanted you to know about our pages on Facebook and Twitter where we will post the highlights of the news and even some special offers we won't be posting anywhere else!

If you're on those services and you're not aware of our pages, now is the time to check them out because we're going to send out some very cool special offers EXCLUSIVELY to those customers, readers, and friends who follow us on those social networks.

So friends and followers of Cemetery Dance will get something special; friends and followers of Richard Chizmer will get something special that is different from what the Cemetery Dance group got, etc. All in all, you can easily get FOUR different specials!

We're not going to say WHEN these specials are going out, and they might be staggered over a couple of weeks, so the fastest and easiest thing to do is sign-up now so you don't miss out!

You don't have to sign-up for all of those and you don't need to do anything after you start following our pages. At some point in the near future, we'll simply send a DIFFERENT special to each of the above groups to say thanks for signing up!

Decapitated Dan at ComicAttack.net has posted a terrific review of Grave Tales #5.

Here's just a little taste: "I know that there is a good mix of horror anthologies out there, trust me, I read them all. What makes Grave Tales stand out to me is the quality of the work by the creative teams. This issue in particular had me terrified and entertained all at one time. The art is creepy, the stories are spooky, and you just get sucked right in. This is how it’s done!"

Vespix by Ray Garton has a new title: Death Hunt on Ervoon. The book is designed and being proofread, and Ray should be signing the signature sheets soon. After that, we just need the interior artwork, which is currently in progress. You can see the final cover artwork on the website.

Stephen King: The Non-Fiction by Rocky Wood & Justin Brooks has been nominated for a Black Quill Award by Dark Scribe Magazine:

"The scope of The Non-Fiction is simply epic... Clearly The Non-Fiction is going to go on the wish list of every serious King fan on the planet... If you are serious about your King library it's a most have book folks..."
— Scaryminds

In the last update, we forgot to mention two very exciting additions to our announced Cemetery Dance Signature Series books.

The Turtle Boy: Peregrine's Tale by Kealan Patrick Burke now includes a BONUS SHORT STORY entitled "Genesis" that wasn't previously announced. Coming in around 5,000 words, this piece is also introduced by the author. Copies of the Limited Edition of this book are still available to preorder, but this title is getting closer to selling out and we can't guarantee that copies will still be around when the book returns from the printer.

Scratch by Brian Keene, which is already sold out, has its own previously unannounced bonus feature: a reprint of Nick Mamatas's insightful interview with the author, which originally appeared in Cemetery Dance magazine. We thought Nick's piece did a great job of covering Brian's work and who he is as an author, so we were very pleased when he granted us permission to include it in this special edition.

More news to come soon! As always, thanks for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Cemetery Dance #63 is in the hands of the printer and it's going to be a special "winter" Halloween issue. We really wanted to do a complete special issue dedicated to Halloween (kind of like October Dreams in magazine form!), but we didn't want to wait until next fall. We figured fans of the genre would be okay with a big old issue of Halloween stories and columns during the coldest months of the years. Douglas Clegg’s serial novella will skip this issue and return in Cemetery Dance #64, which is going to be a very exciting issue for our collectors. Watch for some news on that soon. Click here to read more about #63 or to place your order!

In book news, we've made a lot of progress on getting new titles to the printer this fall and those efforts are really going to pay off for our readers and collectors in the coming months. Here are just a few updates on some of our upcoming releases:

Scratch by Brian Keene and The Innswich Horror by Edward Lee are almost completed at the printer and should be shipping to us at the end of the month or early next year.

The following books are also moving along at the printer and should be shipping to us very soon after those two:

And then the following books are just a small sample of what's ready to go to the printer and will be sent as soon as possible while the projects listed above are being published:

There are already approximately fifteen titles total lined up and ready to go to the printer for our 2010 slate and many of them are unannounced, so it's going to be a very exciting year for Cemetery Dance collectors!

For Stephen King fans, we have a very important update about two upcoming projects:

All of the artwork for The Secretary of Dreams (Volume Two) by Stephen King is now in place, the book has been proofread, and the signature sheets have been completed. Everything is ready for the printer, but after discussions with King's agents, this title is being re-scheduled as a spring 2010 publication. This change was made to accommodate the release of Under the Dome. Also, we recently revamped our website a bit and all of the sample artwork can now be viewed on this one page:

In other King related news, The Dark Tower Concordance by Robin Furth has been finished at the printer for a while now and our slipcase maker is working hard on the 2,000+ cases. He had hoped to ship them to us by the end of the year, but very early in 2010 is looking more likely.

For fans of our Cemetery Dance Signature Series, the next four unannounced titles are deep in production and they should all be sent to the printer in 2010, which means next year should be a great one for collectors of this series. We've lined up some great authors and we think you'll be pleased with the line-up. In addition, Douglas Clegg is hard at work on Mr. Darkness and a while back he sent us an updated description, a very cool cover mock-up, and the first excerpt from the opening of the book:

And finally, we have some huge news about the next volume in the Shivers series, but we'll save that for another day. We can say that we've landed some really incredible authors for the table of contents -- bestselling authors who have never appeared in the series before!

That's all for now, but don't forget you can also follow us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter so you don't miss important updates. We're going to have some big announcements to make in the coming months.

Huge News For William Peter Blatty Fans!
Brand New Special Edition: The Exorcist and Legion in One Beautiful Volume!

Today we're very pleased to announce a brand new special edition of The Exorcist and Legion by William Peter Blatty!

Featuring these two classic novels in one beautiful volume for the first-time ever, this oversized deluxe special edition will be a must-have for any collector of horror! This special signed Limited Edition also includes a career-spanning interview conducted by Cemetery Dance Managing Editor Brian Freeman, covering Blatty's life and career from the 1950s to the present.

In addition, Keith Minnion is providing over TEN beautiful new black and white illustrations! This 550+ page special edition is ready for the printer and will be published next year.

You might want to consider adding your home email address to the mailing list or following us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter so you don't miss important updates. We're going to have some big announcements to make in the coming months.

Plus Five Great New Additions to the Store from DARK HORSE:
• Hellboy: Emerald Hell
• Vampire Hunter D: Volume 1
• Lovecraft Unbound
• Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein
• Creepy Archives: Volume 1

One of our employees received a copy of the brand new Under the Dome by Stephen King Limited Edition from Simon & Schuster on Friday and we thought our readers/collectors might enjoy seeing a few photos. We took a few quick shots and posted them in the Free Extras section of our website. Click here to check them out!

If you missed out on your chance to purchase one of these beautiful books SIGNED by Stephen King, keep reading because this could be your lucky day!

Our good friends at Dark Horse suggested some titles they thought our readers and collectors would enjoy, and we're pleased to announce that we've added FIVE fantastic selections from the book catalogue to our online store. Read on for details!

About the Book:
Hellboy comes to the crossroads in Enigma, Georgia, a small town plagued by strange occurrences. Sent to keep an eye on Sarah Nail, a young girl hiding from the curse of her family, Hellboy becomes entangled in the blood debt of evil mystical preacher, Brother Jester. Stuck between human malice and the mysteries of the occult, Hellboy comes up against an intrigue of ghosts, demon trees, talking bullfrogs, and a race of lost mutant children. An all-new Hellboy novel!

Lovecraft Unbound: Tales Inspired by HP Lovecraft
edited by Ellen Datlow

About the Book:
The stories are legendary, the characters unforgettable, the world horrible and disturbing. Howard Phillips Lovecraft may have been a writer for only a short time, but the creations he left behind after his death in 1937 have shaped modern horror more than any other author's in the last two centuries: the shambling god Cthulhu, and the other deities of the Elder Things, the Outer Gods, and the Great Old Ones, and Herbert West, Reanimator, a doctor who unlocked the secrets of life and death at a terrible cost. In Lovecraft Unbound, more than twenty of today's most prominent writers of literature and dark fantasy tell stories set in or inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft.

Among the contributors are multiple New York Times best-selling authors Michael Chabon and Joyce Carol Oates, award-winning writers Brian Evenson and Marc Laidlaw, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and many others. Edited by multiple-award-winning editor Ellen Datlow.

Praise for the Book:
The 16 new and four reprint stories Datlow (Poe) assembles for this outstanding tribute anthology all capture what Dale Bailey praises as horror master H.P. Lovecraft's gift for depicting the universe as inconceivably more vast, strange, and terrifying than mere human beings can possibly imagine. Bailey and Nathan Ballingrud, in The Crevasse, evoke this alien sensibility through an Antarctic expedition s glimpses of an astonishingly ancient prehuman civilization preserved in the polar ice. Laird Barron's Catch Hell depicts a Lovecraft-type backwoods community in the grip of a profoundly creepy occult mythology. Selections range in tone from the darkly humorous to the sublimely horrific, and all show the contributors to be perceptive interpreters of Lovecraft's work. Readers who know Lovecraft s legacy mostly through turgid and tentacled Cthulhu Mythos pastiches will find this book a treasure trove of literary terrors.
-- Publishers Weekly

Writer: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Artist: Bernie Wrightson
Introduction by: Stephen King

About the Book:
Few works by comic-book artists have earned the universal acclaim and reverence that Bernie Wrightson's illustrated version of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein was met with upon its original release in 1983.

Twenty-five years later, this magnificent pairing of art and literature is still considered to be one of the greatest achievements made by any artist in the field. Now, Wrightson and Dark Horse Books are collaborating on a beautiful new hardcover edition of the book, published in a larger 9" x 12" format intended to show off the exquisitely detailed line art of one of the greatest living artists in comics today.

This book includes the complete text of the original ground-breaking novel, and the original forty-seven full-page illustrations that stunned the world with their monumental beauty and uniqueness.

* The original edition of this book is nearly impossible to find. Don't miss your chance to enjoy one of the most talked-about books of the last twenty-five years, Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein.

About the Book:
Gather up your wooden stakes, your blood-covered hatchets, and all the skeletons in the darkest depths of your closet, and prepare for a horrifying adventure into the darkest corners of comics history. Dark Horse Comics further corners the market on high quality horror storytelling with one of the most anticipated releases of the decade, a hardcover archive collection of legendary Creepy Magazine.

This groundbreaking material turned the world of graphic storytelling on its head in the early 1960s, as phenomenal young artists like Bernie Wrightson and Neal Adams reached new artistic heights with their fascinating explorations of classic and modern horror stories.

* Brilliant, classic Creepy stories from 1964-1966 raised from the dead after twenty-five years.

* Featuring work by such comics luminaries as Joe Orlando, Al Williamson, Alex Toth, and Frank Frazetta.

* Volume One reprints the first five terrifying issues of the magazine's original run, reprinted in the original magazine size!

Praise for this Book:
"Since the stock is much finer than the authentic newsprint, visually, these pages are better than the originals, with moodly, dark blacks that punctuate the shock endings."
-- Publishers Weekly

Writer: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Artist: Yoshitaka Amano
Cover Artist: Yoshitaka Amano
Translator: Kevin Leahy

About the Book:
12,090 A.D. It is a dark time for the world. Humanity is just crawling out from under three hundred years of domination by the race of vampires known as the Nobility. The war against the vampires has taken its toll; cities lie in ruin, the countryside is fragmented into small villages and fiefdoms that still struggle against nightly raids by the fallen vampires-and the remnants of their genetically manufactured demons and werewolves.

Every village wants a Hunter-one of the warriors who have pledged their laser guns and their swords to the eradication of the Nobility. But some Hunters are better than others, and some bring their own kind of danger with them...

From creator Hideyuki Kikuchi, one of Japan's leading horror authors with illustrations by renowned Japanese artist, Yoshitaka Amano, best known for his illustrations in Neil Gaiman's Sandman: The Dream Hunters and the Final Fantasy games.

The New FREE EXTRAS Section:
Free Reads, Free Artwork, Free Interviews, and More!

We've now completely revamped those sections of the website to include better organization and to allow our vistors to comment on each post. All of the old material is still there, but organized a little differently, and we have a lot of new material in the works.

We're still kicking the tires and working out the kinks, but we'd love for you to check out the sections so far and let us know what you think. Here is the link:

Did you miss our Halloween gift featuring
Ray Bradbury, Elizabeth Massie, Thomas Tessier, Simon Clark, and many others?

Speaking of the Free Extras section, if you go to the front page right now you can still catch a special installment of "The Final Question" by Brian Freeman! If you’re new to Cemetery Dance magazine or if you haven’t ordered your copy of Cemetery Dance #61 yet, the premise of “The Final Question” is simple: each issue we’ll ask a handful of authors to answer the same question and then we’ll publish their responses exactly as we receive them.

Normally this feature is limited to the magazine, but we wanted to do something special for our website visitors on Halloween, so we secretly posted a special installment of "The Final Question" as the first official new post of the Free Extras section! Luckily, even if you didn't happen by the site over the weekend, you can still check out what you missed!

The authors include: Ray Bradbury, Elizabeth Massie, Rick Hautala, Al Sarrantonio, Trent Zelazny, Peter Crowther, Simon Clark, Bev Vincent, Ronald Kelly, and Thomas Tessier!

1 – signed Limited Edition of The Secretary of Dreams (Volume Two) by Stephen King – Larry H
2 – Poe by Stewart O'Nan Deluxe Traycased Lettered Edition – Steve F
3 – The Arthur Darknell Double by Ray Garton Deluxe Limited Edition – Suzanne C
4 – Amazon Kindle 2 – Kimberly Y
5 – The Beatles Rock Band Limited Edition Bundle – Bob B
6 – iPod Shuffle – Tess B

TEN Customers also won $100 worth of Limited Edition books:
1 – John P
2 – Gerry B
3 – Keith W
4 – Lanny M
5 – Kristi M
6 – Michael P
7 – Lorna R
8 – Dennis T
9 – Michael B
10 – Lorraine E

Everyone else who entered will recieve their free surprise gift next month since we're having it specially printed this month! Congrats again to all of the winners!

"Hell Hollow clocks in at nearly 500 pages, but it's no slog—Kelly's prose is lean and precise, the mark of an author steeped in the tradition of oral storytelling. He manages to paint vivid pictures with spare strokes, something any writer will tell you is no easy feat... If you're from the South, much of this book is going to ring absolutely true for you. If you’re not, then come along and see what you missed."

"With its laid-back, summer-camp atmosphere and Rhode Island university setting, Necon is arguably the most popular of the many annual horror conventions. For the benefit of fans and fellow writers who've never attended, convention chairman Booth preserves much of the event's warm and fuzzy feeling in the essay and story anthology he has compiled. Featuring a smorgasbord of well-known genre names—Stephen King, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, and Tim Lebbon, among others—the volume mixes personal recollections of past conventions and original fiction, including tales gathered from assorted Necon program guides. Standout stories include Jonathan Carroll's "The Hustler, Smoking," about a boy's encounter with Paul Newman; Kathryn Ptacek's "The Lake," profiling a psychologically abused wife who finds refuge at a lake; and Chet Williamson's "Night Deposits," recounting one man'sunusual solution to erasing his crushing debt. For past Necon attendees, the collection will serve as a nostalgic reminder, while nonparticipants will imbibe some of the convention's playful energy and enjoy some outstanding writing as they do."

"...a collection of dark, stirring tales from one of the most poetic writers working in the genre today, Tim Lebbon. Offering some of his best work to date, Lebbon weaves an entrancing tapestry of stories happening both near and far away; in locales mundane and fantastical, but one thing endures: his elegant style. He exhibits an almost casual mastery over his craft, moving in and out of genres and tropes fluidly, almost effortlessly. Even the hardest critic will be hard pressed to find a 'weak link' in this collection..."

We have a bit of a backlog on our Lettered Editions, but we didn't want to post an update until we had more definitive information for our customers.

About six months ago, we placed a very large order with our traycase maker, who started work and then went out of business with a lot of money (not just ours, but other presses, too) and a lot of unfinished cases.

While we've been dealing with that situation, we have found another traycase maker to start work on the projects all over again. It's going to take him some time, though, so we'll have more specific updates on each project early next year.

Do you see the point of the story, Nathan? We all cut parts of ourselves away, but we never lose them. Things stay with us—souvenirs with memories attached. We can't always choose what to keep, what to throw away.

Nathan's parents devised cautionary tales for him and his sister—gruesome stories about predatory cars racing along the "Big Street" at one end of their neighborhood, or dope fiends lurking in the woods behind their house and ready to plunge hypodermics into the skin of foolish young trespassers. These stories served their purpose during Nathan's gullible childhood, essentially constructing an invisible fence around the yard and keeping the boy close to home where he'd be safe.

Such barriers are not so easy to discard in later life. As an adult, Nathan no longer believes his parents' stories, and yet they still confine him. He lives cautiously, avoiding serious relationships, avoiding risk. But despite his efforts, something from his parents' cautionary tales threatens to creep beneath that invisible border…and the enclosed yard might not be as safe and secure as it always seemed…

About the Author:
Norman Prentiss lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and works as a high school English teacher and part-time editor. His fiction has appeared in Tales from the Gorezone, Damned Nation, Postscripts, the Shivers anthology series, and at the Horror Drive-In website, and his poetry has appeared in Writer Online, Southern Poetry Review, and Baltimore's City Paper. Invisible Fences is his first published book.

Praise for the Book:
"Cemetery Dance's short novel program yields another gem with this sobering story about the imaginary barriers of fear we place around our life circumstances as we grow up… Carefully crafted prose… a lucid reflection on life's inevitable burden of fear and fractured memory."
— Booklist

"Prentiss handles a story that could have been melodramatic or slight and instead infuses it with a quiet dignity and an admirable style. If you're missing the work of the late Charles E. Grant, you'll find what you're looking for here."
— Richard Dansky, Green Man Review

"Beautiful, creepy, and haunting. A dark literary gem from an exciting new voice in the horror field."
— Douglas Clegg, New York Times bestselling author

"Invisible Fences is an elegant, elegaic story about life and death and all points in between. And after. The everyday detail is the stuff of fine novels and the imagery real poetry. A moving and troubling piece of work that you won't easily forget."
— Ed Gorman

"Norman Prentiss writes with subtle power. He resonates well with the quiet horror of Charles Grant, and the nostalgic terror of Bradbury."
— Thomas Monteleone, bestselling author of The Blood of the Lamb and The Eyes of the Virgin

"Beautifully composed and rich in symbolism, Invisible Fences leaves the reader considering the boundaries—safe and not so safe—that we impose upon ourselves ... and on others. Prentiss's story will be talked about for years."
— Tim Lebbon, New York Times bestselling author

Catching Hell by Greg F. Gifune
Cemetery Dance Novella Series #20

Summer, 1983.

As fall approaches and the summer stock theaters on Cape Cod close for the season, three promising young actors and a stagehand pile into an old Ford Fairlane and head for a vacation resort in Maine. Hoping for a relaxing getaway before pursuing their dreams in New York City or going on to college, they instead encounter a bizarre storm while on a lonely stretch of state highway and soon find themselves stranded in the strange rural community of Boxer Hills.

At first glance it seems a harmless little backwoods town, but Boxer Hills has a horrible secret and a deadly history. It's a place of horrific age-old rituals and a legendary evil that will let no one escape without paying a terrible price.

Before the sun rises on a new day, they will have to fight their way through the night and out of town, or risk falling prey to an endless cycle of depravity and violence at the hands of a demonic creature so profane few will even speak its name.

They were young, reckless and chasing hell.

What they hadn’t counted on was actually catching it.

About the Author:
Called "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, Greg F. Gifune is the author of numerous short stories, several novels and two short story collections. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines and anthologies all over the world.

His novels include The Bleeding Season, Deep Night, Saying Uncle, A View From the Lake, Night Work, Drago Descending, Dominion, and Blood in Electric Blue. Along with his short story collections, Down to Sleep and Heretics, his work has been consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. In addition to working as a full-time author, he also serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books. An avid film buff, reader, and animal rights advocate, Greg resides in Massachusetts with his wife Carol and a bevy of very cool cats.

The Corpse King by Tim Curran
Cemetery Dance Novella Series #21

From the fields of the dead, the harvest was brought forth.

Tended by resurrection farmers with grubby fingers, cold hearts, and greedy minds, the fields were worked with shovel and spade and sweat. Beneath a pall of thin moonlight, the crops were plucked from the moist, black earth, torn from wormy boxes and mildewed shrouds like rotting corn from corrupting husks.

The harvest of cadavers was piled in the beds of muddy wagons and taken to market, sold to the highest bidder to supply dissection room and anatomical house. The farmers worked their bone fields night after night, thinking they were alone in their grim harvest.

But there was another who worked the graveyards and mortuaries, another reaper whose cultivation reached back to antiquity. Moon-faced and skeleton-fingered, he was the grand lord of the charnel harvest, master of graveyard harrow and yield.

Enter the world of the late-18th century and join Samuel Clow and Mickey Kierney as they earn their living in the resurrection trade... little realizing that they will soon meet The Corpse King.

About the Author:
Tim Curran is the author of the novels Skin Medicine, Hive, Dead Sea, and Skull Moon. Upcoming projects include the novels Resurrection, The Devil Next Door, and Hive 2, as well as Four Rode Out, a collection of four weird-western novellas by Curran, Tim Lebbon, Brian Keene, and Steve Vernon. His short stories have appeared in such magazines as City Slab, Flesh&Blood, Book of Dark Wisdom, and Inhuman, as well as anthologies such as Flesh Feast, Shivers IV, High Seas Cthulhu, and Vile Things. Find him on the web at: www.corpseking.com

We're pleased to report that we will be getting some copies of the trade edition of Horns, the new novel by Joe Hill, when it is published early next year. If you liked Joe's acclaimed debut Heart-Shaped Box as much as we did, then this is a good time to place you order!

About the Book:
Ignatius Martin Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke the next morning with a headache, put his hands to his temples and felt something unfamiliar, a pair of knobby, pointed protuberances. He was so ill—wet-eyed and weak—he didn’t think anything of it at first, was too hung-over for thinking or worry. But when he was swaying over the toilet, he glanced at himself in the mirror above the sink and saw he had grown horns while he slept.

The second son of a renowned musician and doting mother, Ig Perrish has a privileged life and expectations of a bright future with his childhood sweetheart, Merrin Williams. But life takes an unexpected dark turn when Merrin is brutally killed and suspicion falls hard on Ig.

A year passes, but Ig is nowhere near over his grief or his rage . . . feelings that come to a head in a lost evening of alcohol and hate. When he wakes the next morning he discovers that he has undergone a surreal transformation, and is in possession of an incredible power. It isn’t long before he turns his terrible new abilities towards vengeance. Unfortunately Ig is about to learn that when it comes to revenge, the devil is in the details.

About the Author:
Joe Hill is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Heart-Shaped Box, the award-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts, and a critically acclaimed comic book series, Locke & Key.

(Since this is another publisher's book, we have to charge our usual shipping fees. No coupons, discounts, Gift Certificates, Savings Certificates, or store credit of any kind can be used on this special offer due to the low discount we'll be receiving.)

Publishers Weekly has chimed in with their thoughts on Hell Hollow by Ronald Kelly and they loved it. Here's just a little bit of their review:

"Braiding together three distinct story lines—a coming-of-age tale involving a quartet of adventurous kids, a woman’s quest for vengeance against a maniacal hitchhiker and the vigilante murder of a serial killer—Kelly ingeniously blends unapologetically graphic horror, supernatural suspense and poignant mystery... in this well-crafted and wildly entertaining bloodcurdler."

Now that this great review is out there for booksellers and distributors to see, purchase orders are going to be flooding our office. Keep in mind that we fill all DIRECT customer orders first and there may not be copies left for the booksellers when everything is said and done. Plus US customers who preorder qualify for FREE SHIPPING, so why wait?

"Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King is like beautifully prepared and presented red meat to any admirer of Stephen King. Mr. Lilja has tracked down his many quarries and used them to create this massive treatment of King's work and his world. His book is pure testimony to the love Stephen King is capable of arousing in his readers."
— Peter Straub

Today we're also very pleased to announce Cemetery Dance #62, the William Peter Blatty special issue, which is already at the printer. This very special issue features an extensive interview conducted by Brian Freeman, a wonderful essay by Kealan Patrick Burke, as well as several never-before-published rarities, including the "lost" Epilogue to The Exorcist, a "lost" Prologue to Exorcist III: Legion, and a very unique short story that was written in the 1960s but never saw print because no one would believe it really was based on a true event! Our sincere thanks to Bill for being such a pleasure to work with.

This issue also features the second installment of Douglas Clegg's amazing serial novella, The Innocents at the Museum of Antiquities; a classic short story and an exclusive novel excerpt from longtime Cemetery Dance favorite David Morrell; plus original short stories from Gary Raisor, Cody Goodfellow, and Nate Southard!

In addition, as you can see to the right, the always amazing Les Edwards painted the beautiful cover artwork inspired by the Blatty novel and film that changed the course of the genre forever. This is definitely one of our favorite covers of all-time.

Plus, as always, there are numerous contributions from our brillant columnists! There's definitely a little something for everyone in this issue!

Cover Artist: Les Edwards
Interior Artists: Glenn Chadbourne, Steven C. Gilberts, Dan Grant, Chris Hill, Alex McVey, Keith Minnion, Russell Morgan, Nick Tripiciano
Page Count: 128

Fiction
• "Sacrifice" by Gary Raisor
•"The Innocents at the Museum of Antiquities" by Douglas Clegg (part two of an original novella)
• "Dead Image" by David Morrell
• "The Curious Odyssey of James Deacon (AKA James Dean) & Where Darkness is the Only Light" by David Morrell
• "Wasted on the Young" by Cody Goodfellow
• "The Message" by Nate Southard

Special Features
• "Epilogue: The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty
• "Prologue to Exorcist III: Legion" by William Peter Blatty
• "Terry and the Werewolf" by William Peter Blatty
• "An Invitation To The Dance, Legion: Exorcist III" by Kealan Patrick Burke

The Usual Suspects
• "Words from the Editor" by Richard Chizmar
• "The Mothers and Fathers Italian Association" by Thomas F. Monteleone
• "Stephen King News: From The Dead Zone" by Bev Vincent
• "MediaDrome" by Michael Marano
• "Editorial Perspectives" by Don D'Auria
• "The Last Ten Things I've Read" by Ellen Datlow
• "Spotlight on Publishing" by Robert Morrish
• "Fine Points" by Ed Gorman
• "Horror Drive-In" by Mark Sieber
• "Cemetery Dance Reviews" edited by Nanci Kalanta
• "The Final Question" by Brian Freeman (featuring RC Matheson, Brett Alexander Savory, Dale Bailey, Scott Nicholson, Bev Vincent, Holly Newstein, Glen Hirshberg, Gerard Houarner, Gary Raisor, Norman Prentiss, John Skipp)

Final cover artwork for The Crane House
Plus: A Few Lettered Editions Available Again!

We've posted the final version of the beautiful Jill Bauman cover artwork for The Crane House on our website:

PLEASE NOTE: There are now a couple of copies of the Deluxe Traycased and Signed Lettered Edition available again if you want to order one and missed out the first time around, but remember that the Limited Edition is SOLD OUT and there will be NO more copies of it made available!

Last Exit For The Lost
by Tim Lebbon
cover artwork by Les Edwards

From multi award-winning and New York Times bestselling writer Tim Lebbon comes this huge collection of the very best of his short fiction.

His first short fiction collection As the Sun Goes Down (Night Shade Book), attracted rave reviews. Now, Last Exit for the Lost collects the best of Lebbon's output from 2000 to the present day. Weighing in at over 560 pages and containing 150,000 words of fiction, it also features two brand new, never-before-published stories: the novelette The Evolutionary, and the novella Nothing Heavenly.

• In Kissing at Shadows, a man makes a yearly journey through an apocalyptic landscape to visit the memory of his wife...
• In The Stuff of the Stars, Leaking, a dead sea creature washed up on a remote beach proves to be more mysterious than it first appears…
• A man loses his son... and he will do anything to get him back In Perpetuity…
• In The Horror of the Many Faces, Watson witnesses his friend Sherlock Holmes committing horrendous crimes that the great man himself would have trouble solving...
• A boy meets a mysterious stranger who can heal dead animals in The Evolutionary… but is there some fearful design to their meeting…?
• And captured by angels or demons, a prisoner can find Nothing Heavenly in either...

Lebbon has been described as "…the most exciting voice in the horror genre since Poppy Z Brite and Bentley Little", "...the most exciting new name in horror for years", and "…one of the very few genuinely talented British writers of thought-provoking horror and dark fantasy".

If you're brave enough to step through this Last Exit, you'll see why…

Reviews and Praise:
"During a 15-year career, award-winning horror author Lebbon has received many alms of praise. But perhaps none are more emphatic than the words of genre colleague Joe R. Lansdale, who, in introducing this collection, calls Lebbon a "magical and damned great writer." The 19 tales sumptuously showcased here make a compelling case that Lansdale is right on target. In the title story, a despondent alcoholic learns the whereabouts of his long-lost daughter from a series of portrait paintings that transfer intimate moments from the lives of their subjects. The father of an abducted child in "Pay the Ghost" comes face-to-face with the ghoul behind the abduction on a genuinely haunting Halloween night. "Old Light" recounts the fate of a man given an ancient torchlight that shines on a sometimes unwelcome future. Lebbon's prodigious gifts include a compelling narrative voice and an uncanny understanding of the human psyche. This first-rate collection is guaranteed to win new fans and provide older ones with much to savor."
— Booklist

Click here to read more or to place your orderer!

Futile Efforts
by Tom Piccirilli
Featuring Introductions by Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Thomas Monteleone, Gerard Houarner, Ray Garton, Brian Keene, Christopher Golden, Simon Clark, Ed Gorman, James Moore, and many others!

Futile Efforts features nearly 500 pages of Tom Piccirilli's unique blend of intense and provocative writing. In addition, the four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award invited a group of guest contributors that reads like a "who's who in horror" to write smart and insightful introductions for every piece in this outstanding collection. These authors include Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Thomas Monteleone, Gerard Houarner, Ray Garton, Brian Keene, Christopher Golden, Simon Clark, Ed Gorman, James Moore, and many others.

Leading off with the controversial novella F-n’ Lie Down Already and concluding with 45 of the author's most acclaimed poems, Futile Efforts is an incredible collection of horror and suspense. Whether you're experiencing Piccirilli's compelling writing for the first time, or you're a long-time fan and collector, this is a must-have addition to your bookshelf.

Available only as an exclusive signed Limited Edition from Cemetery Dance Publications, this special edition is sure to top many reviewer and reader lists this year!

Praise & reviews:
PW Star

"In this disturbing, often grotesque and ultimately mesmerizing collection, Piccirilli reprints 17 stories and 45 poems. Although the star-studded introductions are a nice bonus, Piccirilli's stories are the selling point, and all are standouts. 'An Average Insanity, a Common Agony' is an emotionally devastating tale of a man trying to do the right thing for the sake of an innocent creature. 'Alchemy' tells the story of five emotionally stunted people whose discovery of a dead body lets them visit their own dark places ('They weren't frightened [by the sight of the corpse]. None of us were. It broke up the monotony'). 'With an Ear for My Father's Weeping' manages to be both touching and hysterical. Piccirilli's unique mix of gore, violence and a literate style bordering on the lyrical help make this collection one that horror fans will relish."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Tickets to see Stephen King in New York:
1) James Pr
2) Melissa Al
3) Jim Pe

The winner of the Secretary of Dreams review copy is: Mike J.

We posted the beautiful Alan M. Clark cover artwork for Cemetery Dance: A Fifteen Year Celebration edited by Richard Chizmar a while back, but we can't remember highlighting it in a newsletter. If you missed this image the first time around, here it is again:

We have some big announcements about this project coming up, so if you were on the fence about preordering the signed Limited Edition, this is the time to reserve your copy! When we unveil the final Table of Contents this fall, we're certain there will NOT be any copies of that edition left for sale when that day is over!

"Also worth noting is the amazing job Cemetery Dance did with the book itself. The story alone is worth the price of admission, but also included is amazing cover art from Alan M. Clark and interior illustrations from Keith Minnion (including the beautiful endpapers and signature page). Add it all together with CD’s high-quality production standards and you have a book that will make every reader happy. Moonbane was a lot of fun. I read it in just two sittings, the pages flying, eager to find out what happened next. I’m giving it a 9 out of 10 for its fast-paced storytelling and sly twists and turns. Grab a copy while it’s available. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable read this summer."
— Andrew Monge, HorrorDrive-In.com

"Cemetery Dance has created a beautiful reprint of Al Sarrantonio’s tale of a werewolf apocalypse... Sarrantonio doesn’t spend lots of time introducing you to his characters before getting into the action. He shows you his characters as the action unfolds. Not only does Moonbane give us an original tale of the origin of werewolves but it also an effective apocalyptic tale. Highly Recommended."
— Monster Librarian

"Cemetery Dance's signed, limited hardcover edition of the final chapter in Sarrantonio's Orangefield odyssey, 'Halloweenland', is a worthy addition to any collector's stash. Hardcover, artistic interior design, the stirring art of Alan M. Clark gracing the cover, it's an attractive piece, indeed... Sarrantonio paints portraits with words and imagery as well as anyone writing today. 'Halloweenland' pays a worthy homage to a season loved by many."
— Shroud Magazine