Review: 'The Devil in the Clock' by Harry Shannon

The Devil In the Clock by Harry Shannon
CreateSpace (May 2015)
236 pages, paperback $11.99, ebook $3.29
Reviewed by W.D. Gagliani

DevilClockBack when I reviewed Memorial Day, Harry Shannon’s first Mick Callahan novel, I called it “a completely winning, engaging first mystery.” Further, I wrote: “Mick Callahan is no detective or cop. He’s no private dick. No, he’s a disgraced and defrocked television therapist – not your usual tough guy! Think a slicker, more photogenic Dr. Phil. But Shannon wisely hedges his bets and makes Callahan a washed-out Navy SEAL and one time kid boxer – enough pedigree for him to get into fights most of us would eagerly avoid.”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The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King: Includes Several Previously Unpublished Stories!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Includes Several Previously Unpublished Stories!!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!

Review: 'Check-Out Time' by Mark Rigney

Check-Out Time by Mark Rigney
Samhain Publishing (October 2014)
229 pages; $12.32 paperback/$4.99 ebook
Reviewed by Damon Smith

check-out-timeCheck-Out Time is actually the fourth book in Mark Rigney’s “Renner & Quist” series, but outside of a few nods in the early part of the novel, knowledge of the prior books in the series are not necessary for you to enjoy this new entry.

While the book has a bit of trouble reaching its stride in its early pages, once it does, it truly becomes something unique, often showing a very refreshing take on what could be a run-of-the-mill ghost story in the hands of another writer. Continue Reading

Review: 'Red Equinox' by Douglas Wynne

Red Equinox by Douglas Wynne
JournalStone (January 2015)
278 pages; $17.95 paperback/$5.39 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

RedEquinoxRed Equinox places us in the shoes of Becca, an urban explorer whose Gramma was deep into cultish lore and who stumbles onto something far too real and far too sinister for her to believe. Soon, she finds herself caught between a cult that wants to bring the Elder Gods to bear on us all and a secret government agency that is definitely not the B.P.R.D. Dimensional walls are breached, horrific and barely describable monsters are summoned and it looks like the world may end.Continue Reading

Stephen King: News from the Dead Zone #182

Next week will be busy for Stephen King. On September 9, he will be appearing in Cambridge, MA in conversation with Lee Child to promote the new Jack Reacher novel, Make Me. The next day, he will be among the eleven individuals receiving the National Medal of Arts from President Obama in the East Wing of the White House. The citation says, “One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, Mr. King combines his remarkable storytelling with his sharp analysis of human nature. ” Then, on the following day, September 11, he will be a guest on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show during its inaugural week.Continue Reading

Review: 'Eulogies III' edited by Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta and Tony Tremblay

Eulogies III edited by Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta and Tony Tremblay
HW Press (May 2015)
264 pages; paperback $12.99; ebook $4.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

EulogiesIIIFirst there was Eulogies: A Horror World Yearbook 2005, then, two years ago, HW Press gave us Eulogies II: Tales From the Cellar, and now comes Eulogies III from editors Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta and Tony Tremblay.

The effort here is to shy away from the common tropes used in horror. There are no zombies, no vampires or werewolves, in this new anthology, just a wide variety of stories to make you think and perhaps to haunt your dreams.Continue Reading

Paper Cuts: Found Footage and the Ever-Evolving Campfire Tale

PaperCuts-web

Paper (n): material manufactured in thin sheets from the pulp of wood or other fibrous substances, used for writing, drawing, or printing on
 

Cut (v): make (a movie) into a coherent whole by removing parts or placing them in a different order.

Found Footage and the Ever-Evolving Campfire Tale

Blair_Witch_ProjectWhy are so many horror fans so damn conservative? And no, I don’t mean politically conservative, but that would probably be an interesting piece if someone else wanted to write it.

No, I mean why are they conservative when it comes to matters of genre? You’ll frequently hear the statement “everything Hollywood gives us is remakes and found footage these days!” accompanying crotchety diatribes about the “dismal” state of the genre. And to preempt anyone saying this is a straw man argument, I heard a permutation of this from multiple people last month at Scares That Care.

I understand the feelings of resentment towards remakes, on an ideological level. But I don’t share the opinion that remakes are the refuge of the creatively bankrupt.Continue Reading

Review: 'Andersonville' by Edward M. Erdelac

Andersonville by Edward M. Erdelac
Hydra Press (August 2015)
340 pages; ebook $5.12
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

AndersonvilleEdward M. Erdelac is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the author of six novels (including the weird western series Merkbah Rider) and several short stories. He is also an independent filmmaker, an award-winning screenwriter, and sometimes Star Wars contributor. Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife, children, and cats.

In Andersonville, Erdelac has taken the story of the Civil War’s most infamous prison camp and added a supernatural storyline that threatens to change the course of the war. Continue Reading

Review: 'Expiration Date' edited by Nancy Kilpatrick

Expiration Date edited by Nancy Kilpatrick
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing (April 2015)
288 pages; paperback $11.93; ebook $5.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

ExpirationDateNancy Kilpatrick is a writer and editor. She has published 18 novels, 1 non-fiction book, over 200 short stories, 5 collections of stories, and has edited 12 anthologies.

Her latest is Expiration Date, an anthology of brilliant stories that examine all sorts of expirations, but mainly the ones that are personal, because those are the demises that matter most to us. The collection of stories is broken into 3 parts; Negotiating Oblivion (trying to reason with death); Resisting Extinction (trying to avoid death); and Best Before/Best After (a group of stories tied to death).Continue Reading

Joyland by Stephen King ILLUSTRATED Hardcover Edition!

Joyland by Stephen King
Brand New ILLUSTRATED Hardcover Edition!
“I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts.” — Stephen King

Hi Folks!

Don’t forget, we’ll be receiving copies of the new special illustrated hardcover edition of Joyland by Stephen King, which features a brand new cover painting by Glen Orbik, a map of the Joyland amusement park illustrated iby Susan Hunt Yule, and more than twenty interior illustrations by acclaimed artists Robert McGinnis, Mark Summers, and Pat Kinsella.

Joyland Illustrated EditionAside from certain extremely limited editions published for collectors a few years ago, no trade hardcover edition of the book for the general public has ever been published and no others are planned at this time!

About the Book:
Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

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

Even though Joyland 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 Joyland Illustrated Edition 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 Photos

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

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

Publishers Weekly reviews Dark Screams: Volume Five

Publishers Weekly reviews Dark Screams: Volume Five

Hi Folks!

Publishers Weekly has chimed in with a review of Dark Screams: Volume Five and they had a lot of positive things to say:

“Freeman and Chizmar’s fifth horror anthology runs the gamut from throwback horror to lyrical and heartbreaking tales… The crown jewel is Kealan Patrick Burke’s luminous ‘The Land of Sunshine,’ about a husband guilty of infidelity who gives the ultimate gift to win his wife’s forgiveness. Another standout is Mick Garris’s gonzo ‘Everything You’ve Always Wanted,’ a gory, darkly funny tale about a has-been movie director who meets the woman of his dreams at a horror convention, with disastrous results… Loosely tied together with themes of broken hearts and wayward love, this collection will satisfy most horror fans.”

Download from Amazon (US)Download from Amazon (Canada)Download from Amazon (UK) Download for the Nook Download from the iBookstore Download from Kobo

Dark Screams 5

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.
Continue Reading