An Interview with Chris Morey: Staring into the 'ABYSS'

An Interview with Chris Morey:
Staring into the ABYSS

AbyssArtDark Regions Press has been a staple of the dark fiction publishing scene for 30 years, releasing works from authors such as Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, Rick Hautala, Tim Waggoner, and many more. Owner/publisher Chris Morey takes great pains to lead his team in not only finding great stories, but in presenting those stories in impeccably designed editions. His latest project is I AM THE ABYSS, an anthology featuring ten novellas focused on the afterlife. Recently, Morey took a few moments away from preparing for the launch of the book’s Kickstarter campaign to talk to Cemetery Dance Online.
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News from the Dead Zone review: 'The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film'

News From the Dead Zone Banner

Featured review: The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film

The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film
The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film

I don’t make a habit of reviewing books that I’m involved with. However, I’ll make an exception in the case of The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film. My essay takes up only about 2% of the book’s 750 pages. Full disclosure, though: I know the book’s editor, Danel Olson, personally. He lives a couple of miles from me, we’ve gone to see movies together and I’ve spoken to his college classes on a couple of occasions.

Having gotten all of that out of the way, this is the sort of book I wish I’d had access to when I was writing my essay, which is called “The Genius Fallacy: The Shining’s ‘Hidden’ Meanings.” Continue Reading

Dark Screams: Volume Five Featuring Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, J. Kenner, and Bentley Little!

Dark Screams: Volume Five
Featuring Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, J. Kenner, and Bentley Little!

Just $2.99 and Available For Preorder Now!

Hi Folks!

As you might remember, Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman of Cemetery Dance Publications have joined forces with the cutting edge team at Hydra, a division of Random House, to launch a series of horror eBook anthologies called Dark Screams that features the best horror authors working in the business today!

Dark Screams: Volume Five is now available for preorder and we hope you’ll check it out! (Dark Screams: Volume One, Dark Screams: Volume Two, Dark Screams: Volume Three, and Dark Screams: Volume Four are also still available for immediate download!)

Dark Screams 5About Volume Five:
Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, J. Kenner, and Bentley Little pry open a sarcophagus of horror and dread in Dark Screams: Volume Five, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of the esteemed Cemetery Dance Publications.

EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED by Mick Garris
It was supposed to be the night of his life: a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined.

THE LAND OF SUNSHINE by Kealan Patrick Burke
Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost—or be driven mad by remorse.

MECHANICAL GRATITUDE by Del James
Arnold loves his ’68 Camaro almost as much as he loves his wife, and he’s willing to do anything to protect them both—especially after hearing strange noises coming from his garage.

THE ONE AND ONLY by J. Kenner
When he was seven, Will Underwood’s nanny told him she had The Sight. Years later, a broken heart sends him to New Orleans… but it’s fate that leads him to Madame Darkling’s Voodoo Emporium.

THE PLAYHOUSE by Bentley Little
A real-estate agent is drawn into a children’s playhouse behind an abandoned property she’s trying to sell—and finds herself strangely reluctant to leave.

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Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

What I Learned from Stephen King: An Introduction

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“If the horror story is our rehearsal for death, then its strict moralities make it also a reaffirmation of life and good will and simple imagination – just one more pipeline to the infinite.” – Stephen King, Danse Macabre  

skpic2Wisdom can be found in the most unlikely of places, and it is often within the greatest darkness that we find the greatest light.

Alright, alright. I’ll admit they’re clichés – but like most clichés, they also happen to be true. Anyone with a modicum of introspection and a rear view mirror will tell you that it’s the tough times in life we seem to learn and grow from the most. It is the darkness that makes us reach for the light and propels us to examine the human spirit and reevaluate our place and priorities in the world.

If there is anything I learned from Stephen King’s first foray into non-fiction, Danse Macabre, it is that those of us who love a good fright flick or scary read are attracted to the darkness for a wide variety of reasons – many of which leave us with a greater awareness of our inner fears, a questioning of our own mortality, and an increased appreciation that all of our limbs are still intact – or at the very least that our ankles aren’t being hobbled today.   Continue Reading

Review: 'Tortures of the Damned' by Hunter Shea

Tortures of the Damned by Hunter Shea
Pinnacle Books (July 2015)
439 pages, paperback $6.02, ebook $5.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

TorturesHunter Shea lives in New York with his family and one vindictive cat. Aside from writing horror he’s been involved in real life exploration of the paranormal, he interviews exorcists, and has been involved in other things that would keep normal people up at night.

Tortures of the Damned manages to avoid many of the clichés found in the typical apocalyptic horror novel and the result is a terrifying read that left me wanting more. Continue Reading

The Straw Men Signed Limited Edition Shipping Soon!

The Straw Men is brilliantly written and scary as hell. Be the first on your block to stay up all night with this one; it’s a masterpiece.”
— Stephen King

The Straw Men: The Deluxe Special Edition by Michael Marshall
Signed Limited Edition Shipping Soon!

Hi Folks!

The Straw MenWe’re pleased to announce The Straw Men: The Deluxe Special Edition by Michael Marshall has arrived from the printer and will begin shipping this week! This special edition features bonus material including a long introduction by the author and scans of the author’s writing notebooks.

About the Book:
In Montana, a man attends the funeral of his parents, ostensibly killed in a car crash.

In Los Angeles, a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by a man assumed dead.

These events are linked by the fact that in both there is something missing. As there is in so much of the world, for so much of the time.

What’s missing is a secret, something which strikes at the heart of what it is to be human. What it is that makes us this way…

This Cemetery Dance Publications exclusive special Limited Edition includes a long introduction by the author, scans of the author’s writing notebooks, and much more!

Special Features Exclusive to this Special Collector’s Edition:
• deluxe oversized design (7 inches X 10 inches)
• high-quality endpapers and fine bindings for both editions
• bonus features including a long introduction by the author and scans of the author’s writing notebooks
• extremely collectible print run that is a tiny fraction of the MILLIONS of copies of this novel you’ve seen in bookstores — and you will NOT find our edition in chain bookstores!

Read more or place your order while supplies last!

Thank you, as always, for your continuing support!

TWO new eBooks from Donn Gash and James Newman

TWO new eBooks from Donn Gash and James Newman
Available For IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD!

Hi Folks!

We’re pleased to announce TWO new eBooks featuring stories that could have only sprung from the minds of James Newman and Donn Gash!

Death Songs From the Naked Man
by Donn Gash and James Newman

Death Songs From the Naked ManSome things are funny when they shouldn’t be, and DEATH SONGS FROM THE NAKED MAN will leave you simultaneously laughing, shivering… and wondering WTF is wrong with James Newman and Donn Gash.

From the title story, a bullet-riddled collaboration about bizarre goings-on at a convenience store, to solo tales from each author about screwed-up people living (and dying) in a screwed-up world, DEATH SONGS FROM THE NAKED MAN is a collection of four strange stories that will have you singing along with its cast of characters: “We’re all mad here.”

But be warned… it’s not over till the guy in his birthday suit chimes in with a tune of his own.

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People Are Strange
by James Newman

People Are StrangeA talking bug who may or may not be our sixteenth President reincarnated…a beloved grandfather with a terrible secret…a man who takes “coveting thy neighbor’s wife” to a horrifying new low…a community composed of sadists and serial killers…two smiling men in ties carrying the word of God and a straight razor…

You’ll meet all of these and more in People Are Strange, an eclectic compilation of short fiction by James Newman. People Are Strange is a collection of tales that are as weirdly humorous as they are disturbing, stories that will make you laugh even as you shudder.

Featuring a Foreword by Jeff Strand, one of the strangest people James Newman knows.

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Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

TWO new eBooks from Kevin Quigley: Essays About Stephen King and A Full-Length Novel!

TWO new eBooks from Kevin Quigley
Essays About Stephen King and A Full-Length Novel!

Available For IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD!

Hi Folks!

We’re pleased to announce TWO new eBooks from Kevin Quigley including a collection of his recent Stephen King essays and a novel that will scorch your perceptions, obliterate your sleep, and scare you half to death!

Thirteen Years: Stephen King in the 21st Century
by Kevin Quigley

Thirteen YearsNow, for the first time ever, Stephen King expert Kevin Quigley’s articles, reviews, and essays from the first thirteen years of the new century are collected in one place. From the beginnings of King’s involvement with the Internet with the publication of the first eBook bestseller, “Riding the Bullet,” to in-depth critiques of King’s most recent novels and stories, Thirteen Years is one of the most incisive and entertaining looks at King’s recent career yet compiled.

Kevin Quigley has been writing books and articles on his favorite subject for decades. His unique look at King’s career spawned a popular chapbook series, including titles like Wetware, Blood in Your Ears, and Chart of Darkness. He has also written full-length works like A Good Story and Good Words, and, with Brian Freeman, and Hans-Ake Lilja, The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Trivia Book. He has maintained a hugely popular King news and information page, Charnel House, since 1996, and more recently has written extensively on King for the site FEARnet.com.

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I’m On Fire
by Kevin Quigley

I'm On FireHigh school sophomore Laurie Reardon is drawn into the horror when she is only fifteen. The placid suburban surface of Staketon, Connecticut had long held its secrets–wicked stepmothers, grisly legends, and the darkness of a foreboding forest–but now a series of brutal murders has forced them into the light… and into Laurie’s life. Her drive to solve the murders becomes an obsession, one that ensnares her sister, her friends, her mentors, and her prince-charming boyfriend, all of whom have secrets of their own. Will Laurie prevail, or will the darkness consume her?

From the mind that brought you the terrifying visions of This Terrestrial Hell comes I’m On Fire, a novel that will scorch your perceptions, obliterate your sleep, and scare you half to death.

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Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Review: 'Spore' by Tamara Jones

Spore by Tamara Jones
Samhain Publishing (June 2015)
266 pages, e-book $4.24, paperback $15.99
Reviewed by Frank Michael Errington

SporeThe author started her academic career as a science geek, earned a degree in art, and, when she’s not making quilts or herding cats, writes tense thrillers as Tamara Jones and the award-winning Dubric Byerly Mysteries series (Bantam Spectra), as Tamara Siler Jones. Despite the violent nature of her work, Tam’s easygoing and friendly. Not sick or twisted at all. Honest.Continue Reading

Review: 'The Best Horror of the Year Volume Seven' edited by Ellen Datlow

The Best Horror of the Year Volume Seven edited by Ellen Datlow
Night Shade Books (August 18, 2015)
416 pages; $7.64 paperback/$7.26 ebook
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

BestHorror7The Best Horror of the Year Volume 7, edited by the amazing Ellen Datlow, brings together twenty-two diverse authors in a collection that features a little bit of everything the horror genre has to offer. It truly does have something for everyone. Ellen has been at this for a long time. An editor of science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for more than 30 years and has more than 50 anthologies to her credit.Continue Reading

New Bentley Little Novel Receives STARRED Review in Booklist!

New Bentley Little Novel Receiving Rave Reviews!
The Consultant by Bentley Little

STARRED Review in Booklist!

Hi Folks!

The ConsultantThe reviews are rolling in for The Consultant by Bentley Little, his brand new 400+ page novel that has never been published anywhere in the world, and the critics are loving Little’s take on workplace horror!

Here is the latest, a STARRED REVIEW from Daniel Kraus in Booklist:

Starred Review “Why aren’t more horror novels set in the workplace? Surely few things strike fear into the heart more than the squeak of the boss’ shoes rounding the credenza, a memo about an emergency sales meeting, or an accidental reply-all e-mail. Craig Horne didn’t think software firm CompWare’s downtick in business warranted the hiring of the consulting firm BFG Associates, but now it seems they’re stuck with them. Or him, to be precise: Regus Patoff, a bone-thin, flat-topped, bow tie–clad Mephistopheles whose initial thousands of e-mails and hundreds of meetings only hint at what’s to come. As he did in The Mailman and The Influence,Little wrings his premise for every drop of blood and sweat. PowerPoint presentations—with gory crime-scene photos. Mandatory blood drives—conducted with rusty knives. Staff weight-loss programs—with naked weigh-ins. Training sessions—on proper toilet-papering technique. Little understands the ominous undertones of companyspeak like initiatives, streamlining, and, most of all, termination. As suicides and “accidents” mount, it becomes clear that BFG intends to radically restructure (another eerie euphemism) CompWare, even if it means infiltrating employees’ personal lives, as Craig learns when Patoff begins consulting at both his wife’s job and son’s school. This is ink-black dark comedy at its chortling, devious best. Bosses who get the joke should be handing this out with the Christmas bonuses.”
Booklist, Daniel Kraus (starred review)

Read more or place your order today!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Review: 'King of the Bastards' by Brian Keene and Steven Shrewsbury

King of the Bastards by Brian Keene and Steven Shrewsbury
Apex Book Company (July 2015)
182 pages, e-book $6.99, paperback $15.95
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000037_00021]Brian Keene, a name synonymous with horror, and Steven Shrewsbury, best known for his work in the sword-and-sorcery genre, have combined their considerable talents and given us King of the Bastards. Told as a story to a small group of children, it was to be about their grandfather, the king…

“Was grandfather king of the entire old world?”

“No, he ruled but a small part of it. But he was known, feared, and lusted after throughout the entire old world. Kings, women, brigands, and bards—all knew his name. It is KING OF THE BASTARDS.”Continue Reading

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King Includes Several Previously Unpublished Stories!

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
by Stephen King

Includes Several Previously Unpublished Stories!!

Hi Folks!

If you missed the news earlier this summer, we’re pleased to report we WILL be receiving copies of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King, which is due out later this year, and it’s turning into another amazing collection from the King of Horror! There are several BRAND NEW stories in here and also several that have never before appeared in print:

The Bazaar of Bad DreamsTable of Contents:
Author’s note
Introduction
1. Mile 81
2. Premium Harmony
3. Batman and Robin Have an Altercation
4. The Dune
5. Bad Little Kid – New
6. A Death
7. The Bone Church
8. Morality
9. Afterlife
10. Ur – First Time In Print
11. Herman Wouk is Still Alive
12. Under the Weather
13. Blockade Billy
14. Mister Yummy – New
15. Tommy
16. The Little Green God of Agony
17. That Bus is Another World
18. Obits – New
19. Drunken Fireworks – First Time In Print
20. Summer Thunder

Add A Special Exclusive Slipcase To Your Order To Protect Your Book!

Even though The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King is being published by another publisher, we will be producing one of our popular custom-made slipcase for this title like we have for the last few Stephen King books!

The easiest way to add a slipcase to your purchase is by selecting the “Trade Hardcover Edition with Exclusive Slipcase!” option above — you’ll also save on shipping by ordering this way! (You can order just the slipcase by itself on the The Bazaar of Bad Dreams custom slipcase product page.)

Don’t know what a slipcase is? That’s okay! You can see some sample images of other slipcases we’ve made below. We’re using the same high-quality materials we have used for our previous Stephen King cases, with one color hot foil stamping. The company who makes these for us is the best in the business and you won’t find a better way to protect your investment! (If you are new to collecting, you can read more about slipcases on our Book FAQ page.)

We’re selling these special slipcases for just $24.95, making them an extremely affordable way to protect your book.  These cases will be produced after the book is published because we need a real copy of the book to get the sizing just right. Your book and slipcase will ship together to save you on shipping. It takes approximately twelve weeks for the cases to made and we think our collectors will be very pleased with what we have in mind for this production, so don’t wait to place your order!

Sample Slipcase Photo:

Sample Slipcase Photo

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

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!