Want some short fiction, novels, films, and other oddities? READ THIS!

Cemetery Dance fans take note! We want to update you on two Patreon pages you might be interested in supporting:

Billy Chizmar, who you may know from his short stories, the acclaimed novella Widow’s Point, or his award-winning short films, has just launched a Patreon page with some incredible rewards available including a signed movie poster if you’re one of the first 100 people to sign up! We’ve seen a sneak peek of what Billy is cooking up for his patrons, and it’s going to be amazing. Get in early before the best tiers are gone! Check out all the details here:

Chizmar

There’s also Brian James Freeman’s Patreon page, where he posts his writing and previews of Lividian projects, and where he publishes chapbooks and special edition books exclusively for his supporters. Thanks to the support of his readers, he’s been able to switch to writing full-time as of two weeks ago… not that any of us are counting! Check out his page here:

Freeman

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

Review: Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

cover of Dead SilenceDead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Tor Nightfire (February 8th, 2022)
352 pages; $23.99 hardback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

Dead Silence makes use of well-loved tropes within the sci-fi horror sub-genre while introducing elements borrowed from popular modern thrillers. A genre mash-up that easily captivates its audience but struggles to utilize that up-front investment to maintain interest.Continue Reading

Horror Drive-In: Scaaaa-REEM!

banner reading Horror Drive-In and Mark Sieber and Cemetery Dance

I am the perfect age to be a slasher fan. Halloween was released when I was seventeen years old — roughly the same age as the victims in John Carpenter’s masterpiece. I saw it in a walk-in theater and the experience was truly transformational. I was on the verge of adulthood and this movie, which was based on an oft-told urban legend, felt like the beginning of something entirely new.

Halloween was a runaway success and along with the inevitable sequel, imitator movies were quickly made and released. The biggest of them is, of course, Friday the 13th. I was eighteen years old.Continue Reading

Review: I Hear the Clattering of the Keys by Jamie Stewart

cover of I Hear the Clattering of the KeysI Hear The Clattering of the Keys by Jamie Stewart 
Blood Rites Horror (November 2021) 
175 pages; $7.99 paperback ; $2.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

In the past, when I’ve read horror short story collections, I’ve found them a bit insular; they’re always too fast, and the payoff isn’t consistent.

I Hear The Clattering of the Keys is a horrific web of tragedy, love, and the supernatural — a complete antithesis of what’s turned me off to short stories in the past. Continue Reading

NEW Books From Robert McCammon Announced Today!

The King of Shadows
by Robert McCammon
A Deluxe Trade Hardcover from Lividian Publications!
Plus: FIVE New Robert McCammon Trade Paperbacks (One Signed!)

We’re pleased to report we will be getting copies of the new deluxe trade hardcover of The King of Shadows by Robert McCammon, the eighth volume in his acclaimed Matthew Corbett series, which is being published by Lividian Publications! This absolutely massive hardcover edition features Vincent Chong color artwork for the dust jacket (different from the Limited Edition) and also includes the ten black and white interior illustrations from the Limited Edition.

Cover

Read more and place your order while our supplies last!

Lividian Publications is also publishing multiple volumes of Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series in trade paperback for the first time ever later this year, and we’re pleased to report we’re getting some copies of the very special bundle set they’re putting together!

Due to the shortage of book paper in the world, there will be a limited run of the offset printed true first printings of these trade paperbacks.

For collectors who want all first printings, Lividian Publications has created a bundle featuring all five books, to be shipped together this summer, that are guaranteed to be from the offset run of first printings and will be marked as such on their copyright pages Robert McCammon has also generously agreed to sign signature sheets for a book in the bundle!

Supplies are very limited! Copies ordered individually via online retailers like Amazon, etc, will not be signed and might be print on demand copies.

Cover

Read more and place your order while our supplies last!

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

Cemetery Dance Movie Watch: SCARED TO DEATH

Into the Abyss, the YouTube show headed up by Cemetery Dance Ebook/Trade Paperback Editor Kevin Lucia, recently hosted its very first “Cemetery Dance Movie Watch.” Author Michael Aronovitz joined the Into the Abyss crew for their viewing of the 1980 horror flick Scared to Death

Join the crew below, and when the movie’s over take a minute to check out Aronovitz’s new short story collection, Dancing with Tombstones, which is currently on a.99 ebook preorder special

Stephen King: News from the Dead Zone #227

Stephen King News From the Dead Zone

Happy New Year to all my readers. It’s been a while since my last news update, primarily because there hasn’t been a lot going on in the Stephen King Universe. However, I now have some cool things to talk about, so pull up a chair.
Continue Reading

Review: Ibitsu by Haruto Ryo

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of Ibitsu by Haturo Ryo

Ibitsu by Haruto Ryo
Yen Press (July 2018)
416 pages; $20 hardcover, $9.99 ebook
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

Ibitsu comes from the Japanese word for “twisted,” and it follows a creepy urban legend. The main character Kazuki is walking along at night when he sees someone dressed in Gothic Lolita style sitting in the garbage. Lolita is a fashion style in Japan with lots of frills and Victorian influences that has multiple substyles. One of those substyles is Gothic Lolita, where the frills and little girl look is also strongly influenced by gothic, morbid and dark imagery.

Kazuki thinks she’s creepy, especially because it looks as if blood might be seeping from her, and it looks as if her arm had been ripped open and then sewn back together. She asks him, “Would you . . . have a little sister?”Continue Reading

Story Structure: Dancing with Tombstones by Michael Aronovitz

College professor, rock critic and horror author Michael Aronovitz discusses his approach to story structure in his new Cemetery Dance short story collection, Dancing With Tombstones!

Dancing With Tombstones is available in paperback on Amazon and available as an ebook at the special preorder price of 99 cents.

Review: Saltblood by T.C. Parker

cover of Saltblood by T.C. ParkerSaltblood by T.C. Parker
Independently Published (August 2020)
306 pages; $11.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

Imagine a world where public opinion is measured by real units and offending people whose behavior results in accumulating a high amount of units, get shipped off to an isolated location to live out a predetermined sentence.

The concept of Saltblood by T.C. Parker is quite terrifying, actually. Public opinion is so fickle and subjective. I hate the thought of a majority of people who don’t really know you passing judgment with real consequences based on perceived reality; your reputation and not your character. No facts, just opinions. The power to strip you from your life and throw you away.
Utterly horrifying.Continue Reading

Origin Story: Dancing with Tombstones by Michael Aronovitz

College professor, rock critic and horror author Michael Aronovitz discusses the origin of his new Cemetery Dance short story collection, Dancing With Tombstones!

Dancing With Tombstones is available in paperback on Amazon and available as an ebook at the special preorder price of 99 cents.

Review: Pangaea: Prose and Poetry by Hinna Mian

cover of Pangaea: Prose and PoetryPangaea: Prose and Poetry by Hinnah Mian
Central Avenue Publishing (February 8, 2022)
128 pages; $16.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Hinnah Mian is a Pakistani American poet and author whose work has appeared in Harness Magazine, JUMP, Blue Minaret, and The Rising Phoenix Review. Her first book, To Build a Home, won silver in the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. She spends her time journaling, exploring, and living out her days with the love of her life — her dog, Felix. Her newest collection, Pangaea: Prose and Poetry explores the horrors and traumas inflicted on one’s body in a striking and poignant collection.Continue Reading

Staffer Brian James Freeman’s Last Day At Cemetery Dance Publications!

Hi Folks!

Long-time staffer Brian James Freeman here. Today marks my final day working full-time for CD, the only workplace I’ve known since graduating college nearly 20 years ago. I’ve loved getting to know our amazing collectors, authors, artists, designers, booksellers, and vendors over the years. Working with Rich, Mindy, Norman, Dan, and everyone else has been an absolutely incredible experience.

My new job is something I honestly never thought would be possible: writing short stories for a living! If you know this business, you know that was a pretty insane dream to have. After all, when was the last time writers could earn enough from their short stories to pay their bills?

But thanks to some dedicated supporters of my Patreon, I have the opportunity to do just that, and I can’t wait to see where this new adventure takes me. (Of course, because creating small press special editions really is a ton of fun, I will continue publishing a few of my friends over at my own press, Lividian Publications.)

Here are a few links for anyone who wants to follow along with what comes next:

My Patreon

Brian James Freeman’s Website

Brian James Freeman’s Free Newsletter

Brian on Twitter

Brian on Facebook

Brian on Instagram

Lividian Publications website

Thank you again to everyone I’ve met along the way. And thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Best,
Brian

Birth of a Cover: Dancing with Tombstones by Michael Aronovitz

In the first of a series of video interviews, college professor, rock critic and horror author Michael Aronovitz discusses the interesting genesis of Lynne Hansen’s cover for his Cemetery Dance short story collection, Dancing With Tombstones — including the story of how he and Hansen first “met”!

Dancing With Tombstones is available in paperback on Amazon and available as an ebook at the special preorder price of 99 cents on January 21st.

Review: Sister Funtime by Spencer Hamilton

cover of Sister Funtime by Spencer HamiltonSister Funtime by Spencer Hamilton 
Nerdy Wordsmith (November 2021)
140 pages; $9.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

There’s an old saying that water can wear away stone, but only over hundreds of years. In a classic Stephen King novel, Christine, a characterargues that people are not stone, but mortal.

Spencer Hamilton’s Sister Funtime untethers this phrase from such limitations and instead strangles it into a festering devout, sinister power — something inhuman and hungry for flesh. Continue Reading