Zac Thompson on Catching a DreamWave

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In the new comic Cemetery Kids Don’t Die from writer Zac Thompson and artist Daniel Irizarri, people are obsessed with the gaming console DreamWave, which works while you’re sleeping. But maybe NightmareWave is a better name, as this horror/science fiction story shows friends known as the Cemetery Kids get in over their heads. Cemetery Dance spoke with Thompson about the comic’s inspiration, his interest in horror comics, and how shonen manga (Japanese comics aimed for boys) inspired the artwork. Continue Reading

Review: Hitchcock’s Blondes: The Unforgettable Women Behind The Legendary Director’s Dark Obsession by Laurence Leamer

cover of Hitchcock's BlondesHitchcock’s Blondes: The Unforgettable Women Behind The Legendary Director’s Dark Obsession by Laurence Leamer
 G.P. Putnam’s Sons (October 2023)
335 pages; $21.10 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Alfred Hitchcock’s legacy has, until recent years, mostly been portrayed through the rosy lens of Hollywood. Many consider Hitchcock one of the fathers of horror and a worthy contender amongst the greatest directors of all time. He’s remembered for his brilliance and astute demeanor, evoked throughout the evolution of cinema-from silent films to “talkies” to color to the big screen.Continue Reading

What Screams May Come: A Conversation with Tim Waggoner

banner What Screams May Come by Rick Hipson

The Atrocity Engine (Custodians of the Cosmos Book 1) by Tim Waggoner
Aethon Books (April 30, 2024)

The Synopsis:
Men in Black meets Hellraiser in this rollicking mash-up of urban fantasy and cosmic horror from four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author Tim Waggoner.

cover of Atrocity EngineCreatures from dark dimensions infesting your home? Demonic beings trying to drive you insane? Alien gods attempting to destroy your universe?

Just call Maintenance.

This underpaid and overworked secret organization is dedicated to battling forces that seek to speed up Entropy and hasten the Omniverse’s inevitable death.

Neal Hudson is a twenty-year veteran of Maintenance. A surveyor who drives through the streets of Ash Creek, Ohio, constantly scanning for the deadly energy known as Corruption. Since the death of his previous partner, Neal prefers to work alone, and he’s not happy when he’s assigned to mentor a rookie.

But they better learn to get along fast.

The Multitude, a group of godlike beings who seek to increase Entropy at every opportunity, are creating an Atrocity Engine. This foul magical device can destroy the Earth, and they don’t care how many innocent lives it takes to build it. (Spoiler alert: It’s a lot!)

Just another day on the job…Continue Reading

Cemetery Dance Production Update!

We’re working hard to catch up with our hardcover publication schedule in 2024. In some cases, we’re at the mercy of overworked and understaffed printers and case manufacturers, but these companies are committed to helping us get back to a normal release schedule, and Dan Franklin is learning the ropes to help keep things moving.

Here are updates on just some of our projects in progress:

The Best of Cemetery Dance 2 Lettered Edition
Traycases are finished and approved, and we expect to ship in 1-2 weeks.

So Cold the River 
Books are finished at press, waiting on the final approval copy to arrive at office. Expect to ship in 2 weeks after that.

Stephen King Revisited
Rolling at press, expect to ship in 6-8 weeks.

Little Boy (unannounced)
Rolling at press, expected in 8-10 weeks, will be announced closer to publication.

The Stand
Books are at the press and we expect them to finish their work this summer. Slipcases and Traycases will be later in summer because we need finished books to get the sizing just right. For a book of this size, a dummy book isn’t reliable, and we want to be sure they’re perfect.

A Face in the Crowd Artist Edition
The books finished and in hand! Slipcases should be finished in 6 weeks.

A Face in the Crowd Lettered Edition
At the hand binder, who is also making the Traycases. Will ship as each batch of 10-12 copies are sent to us.

Gwendy’s Final Task Limited & Lettered 
Sig sheets are signed and the books are at the binder. We’re expecting to ship this summer.

Gwendy’s Magic Feather Lettered Edition 
Wooden feathers are completed. Books are finished and in warehouse. Traycases are being worked on at the manufacturer now.

Shocklines
Rolling at press and expected in 8-10 weeks.

We’ll share more news on these as they get closer to shipping, and we thank you for your continuing enthusiasm and support!

Review: This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau

cover of This Is Where We Talk Things OutThis Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau
Dark Lit Press (July 2023)
114 pages; $16 paperback
Reviewed by Janelle Janson

When I first picked up Caitlin Marceaus novella This is Where We Talk Things Out, I wasnt sure what to expect. Ive never read her work before, but Ive always heard good things. But as soon as I started, I could not put it down. It immediately demands your attention.Continue Reading

The Cemetery Dance Interview: Elle Nash

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photo of author Elle Nash
Elle Nash

Elle Nash’s Deliver Me (Unnamed Press, 2023) burrowed into my psyche deeper than any other book in 2023. The novel’s neglected yet unforgettable main character, Dee Dee, whispers to us, using her perpetual inside voice, offering accumulative clues to the relationship between her environment and her biological delusions; a hushed effect of descent that eventually lands on what is truly growing in her depths. Sometimes the desire is greater than the acquisition; it can block the illumination of what lengths we are going to get it.  

Initially inspired by a bizarre true-crime event, Nash transmutes a headline with nothing left to the imagination into a delicate tapestry of inner hallucination, igniting a divine poetry from ignorance — all of it privileged information from a narrator so unreliable, it hurts. But one must always keep pushing. 

Nash is also the author of Gag Reflex (Clash Books), Nudes (LF/SD), Animals Eat Each Other (Dzanc Books), and is the editor-in-chief of Witchcraft magazine. 

I caught up with Nash in early January to discuss Deliver Me, the miracle and terror of childbirth, the constitution of bloodshed between genders, and the desensitization of horror inside our American nightmare. Continue Reading

What Screams May Come: THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE

banner What Screams May Come by Rick Hipson

This Skin Was Once Mine by Eric LaRocca
Titan Books (April 2, 2024)

cover of This Skin Was Once MineEver since his debut publication, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (now in a second edition with bonus stories), Eric LaRocca has been blazing a trail of broken souls and butchered hearts with each new release he unleashes. After a series of highly acclaimed novellas, LaRocca published his first full length novel, Everything the Darkness Eats, with Titan Books. Clearly a match made in horror, Titan is getting set to publish LaRocca’s newest collection of four riveting novellas in This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances. 

I cornered the author long enough to discuss his latest publication, the importance of being an aggressor to his readers, along with digging into what has caused the floor beneath him to be ripped out plus more!Continue Reading

Review: Among the Living by Tim Lebbon

cover of Among the LivingAmong the Living by Tim Lebbon
Titan Books (February 13, 2024)
304 pages; $16.99 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

When a novel marries the true terror inherent to humanity with the relevance of the world’s biggest issue (the death of the environment), it can resonate in a manner that most thriller and horror fans cannot escape. Imagine the The Thing crossed with The Terror — or any other high-quality isolated frozen story — and then transforming it into something even more frightening. That’s the gem that Tim Lebbon has created here with Among the Living.Continue Reading

Review: The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden

cover of The House of Last ResortThe House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden
St. Martin’s Press (January 30, 2023)
304 pages; $24.65 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Christopher Golden knows better than many writers how to turn a setting into a brutal, living, breathing character. His new, terrifying novel might be the perfect encapsulation of that statement. When a reader takes into consideration the body of work that includes Ararat (possible resting place of Noah’s Ark), Road of Bones (forbidden frozen land in Russia), and Strangeland (what might be the most inventive setting in horror fantasy in ages), the praise for this story is not taken lightly.Continue Reading

What Screams May Come: Cruising the HUNTED HIGHWAYS

banner What Screams May Come by Rick Hipson

Hunted Highways (Dark Tide Book 12) by Carver Pike, Lucas Mangum, and Rowland Bercy
Crustal Lake Publishing (January 26th, 2024)

The Synopsis: 

cover of Hunted Highways“B.I.R.D.S.” by Rowland Bercy Jr.: In “B.I.R.D.S.,” a 2023 reimagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, a group of friends embarks on a cross-country trip, unwittingly stirring a vengeful avian onslaught. Raquel, Robert, Karen, and David face chaos and carnage, learning that appearances deceive and the price of their actions can be deadly. This bone-chilling tale weaves a narrative of suspense and consequence in a world where birds are not what they seem.

“Dracula and the Devil Walk Into a Bar” by Lucas Mangum: After a team of hunters raid their fortress, Dracula and Lucifer hit the road in search of a new place to call home. They stop at a roadside bar in an unincorporated locale to meet with a vampire named Mina. All three creatures of the night have the potential for violence. And none of them can resist the call of bloodshed. The people in this wood-paneled, neon-lit establishment are about to meet Hell itself.

“Road Wrath” by Carver Pike: For Melanie and her friends, this fun-filled trip to tour their favorite college campus is about to take a violent and macabre turn. If only they’d kept driving, if only they’d stayed far away from that rest stop, if only they’d been more polite when they encountered the creepy old couple. Now, it’s too late for apologies. Road Wrath is coming.  Continue Reading

Review: Master of Rods and Strings by Jason Marc Harris

cover of Master of Rods and StringsMaster of Rods and Strings by Jason Marc Harris
Crystal Lake Publishing (January 12, 2024)
104 pages; paperback
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (Instagram) (TikTok)

Do you like to read things that scare you? And I don’t mean just general horror… I mean specifics. I absolutely cannot be around dolls… and by default, puppets. Puppets may almost even be worse since they actively move – even if it’s in a controlled way by the person with the rods and strings. So of course I had to read this story of Elias, who wants to be as talented as his sister as puppetry. She is recruited by their Uncle Pavan, who is well known for his successes in his puppetry school. But something seems off and Elia won’t stop until he finds his sister. No cost is too big and he finds himself spiraling into the occult. Nothing will stop him.Continue Reading

Review: Ornithologiae edited by Mark Beech

cover of OrnithologiaeOrnithologiae edited by Mark Beech
Egaeus (June 2022)
260 pages; Limited edition of 460 Copies
Reviewed by Daniel Braum

Ornithologiae is an anthology with the theme of birds edited by Mark Beech from his Egeaus Press in the United Kingdom. The subtitle of the book is “Being a collection of weird and uncategorizable stories and poems on the subject of birds.” The volume is hardcover with black and white interior illustrations and color illustrated end pages.Continue Reading

What Screams May Come: Joseph Sale’s CITY OF CORPSES

banner What Screams May Come by Rick Hipson

The City of Corpses (Book two of the Lost Carcosa Series) by Joseph Sale
Blood Bound Books (January 16th, 2024)

cover of The City of CorpsesThe synopsis: Dark fantasy and horror combine in this epic narrative of war, betrayal, love, and spirituality…Reeling from betrayal, Alan, Cassilda, LeBarron, and Petruccio must go into hiding; the only place that seems safe is Alar, an underwater kingdom lying at the bottom of Lake Hali. But all is not well in Alar. Dangers lurk around every corner. And a sorceress now rules the city, one whose powers challenge even those of Carcosa’s princesses, Cassilda and Cali…Meanwhile, Pe’kar, the great enemy, unleashes his second legion upon Carcosa, intent to finally raze the city to the ground and become undisputed ruler of the black planet. How can Alan and his fellowship save Carcosa when they can hardly save themselves? The answer lies within…

The City of Corpses is the second Book of Lost Carcosa, an epic fantasy-horror that reimagines the astonishing mythos of Robert W. Chambers. Combining Clive Barker’s eroticism and fantasy with Stephen King’s pulse-pounding narrative, The City of Corpses will please fans of Imajica, Weaveworld, The Dark Tower, H. P. Lovecraft, Eric LaRocca, and Alistair Rennie.Continue Reading

Review: This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

cover of This Wretched ValleyThis Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
Quirk Books (January 2024)
309 pages; $18.99 paperback; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

DO NOT TOUCH THIS GROUND

Some monsters live outside the shadows, beneath the sun, sitting beside you, watching and plotting.

Jenny Kiefer’s debut, This Wretched Valley, will appease horror readers who crave fright outside the typical haunted house or killer’s dimly lit basement. Many hair-raising, nail-biting scenes occur in broad daylight, and exploring an uncharted rock in the valley leaves the team isolated from surrounding campers or hikers. Not that many visit that wretched valley, anyway. Not after all the disappearances over the years. Continue Reading

Review: Shimmerfish by Bethany Browning

Shimmerfish by Bethany Browning
Sonoma MediaWorks (October 2023)
126 pages; $4.99 paperback
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (Instagram) (TikTok)
Shimmerfish is a coming-of-age horror about a young woman who flees abuse and finds a new world filled with the enchantments of mermaiding. She’s got her tail, her mer-sona and a mer-name, but something feels fishy, and she’s forced to confront her deepest fears in order to uncover the truth.

Continue Reading