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Review: Wicked Women: An Anthology by The New England Horror Writers

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 17, 2021February 14, 2021ReviewsDave Simms, New England Horror Writers, Reviews, Wicked WomenLeave a comment

cover of Wicked Women showing a witch-like character Wicked Women: An Anthology by The New England Horror Writers edited by Trisha J. Wooldridge & Scott E. Goudsward
NEHW Press (November 2020)
242 pages; paperback $14.99; e-book $4.99
Reviewed by Dave Simms

February is Women in Horror Month, a time to celebrate those who have altered the dark landscape and pioneered the path forward into nightmares anew and fresh trails into the abyss. Note: this shouldn’t just be one month — it’s tough to highlight all of the new stars in the genre while looking back to those who paved the way.Continue Reading

King of Crime Part I — The Earlier Years

Bev VincentFebruary 16, 2021February 14, 2021Stephen King News from the Dead Zone11/22/63, A Good Marriage, Bag of Bones, Bev Vincent, Billy Summers, Charles Ardai, Columns, Creepshow, Dolan's Cadillac, Full Dark, Hard Case Crime, Joyland, Later, Mr. Mercedes, News from the Dead Zone, No Stars, Richard Bachman, Stephen King, The Colorado Kid, The Dark Half, The Dead Zone, The Doctor's Case, The Fifth Quarter, The Green Mile, Umney's Last CaseLeave a comment

King of Crime: Part I — The Earlier Years

In a couple of weeks—on March 2^nd, 2021, to be specific—Hard Case Crime will publish their third Stephen King novel, Later. Although King is generally thought of as a horror writer, he has written numerous crime short stories, novellas and novels, giving them a unique twist. In Part 1 of a three-part series, I look at King’s earliest involvement with crime fiction[1]. Next week, I’ll explore his more recent writings in the genre, including his previous two books with Hard Case Crime and the Mercedes series. Then, on publication day, I’ll review Later and look ahead to King’s next crime novel, Billy Summers.Continue Reading

Review: Many Restless Concerns by Gayle Brandeis

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 15, 2021February 14, 2021ReviewsBlack Lawrence Press, Gayle Brandeis, Joshua Gage, Many Restless Concerns, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Many Restless Concerns by Gayle Brandeis Many Restless Concerns by Gayle Brandeis
Black Lawrence Press (February 14, 2020)
160 pages; $17.95 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Most horror readers are familiar with Elizabeth Batharoy, one of history’s most famous murderers and the source of much vampire lore. Much less is known about her victims, which leads readers and historians to a lot of speculation as to who these young women were and what drew them towards Batharoy’s clutches. In her newest poetry collection, Many Restless Concerns, Gayle Brandeis uses hybrid text techniques to give voice to these victims, channeling the idea of a collective voice, or chorus, as the persona in this really dark and enticing collection.Continue Reading

Review: Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Blood #1

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 12, 2021February 11, 2021The Comic VaultAhoy Comics, Columns, Danica Davidson, Edgar Allan Poe, Snifter of Blood, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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cover of Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Blood 1 Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Blood #1
Ahoy! Comics (October 2020)
32 pages; $4.99
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

Following their Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror line of comics, Ahoy Comics is releasing Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Blood. These are all anthology comics, so people can start reading them anywhere in the series.

The first issue of Snifter of Blood contains the stories “The Black Dog,” “Atlas Shrugged,” “Werewolf Hangover,” “Finally,” and “Deep Cover.” The first two are comics with sequential art, and the last three are flash fiction with an introductory illustration. While each story has something of its own tone, they all similarly have twist endings and moments of humor in the midst of horror. Edgar Allan Poe, like the Crypt Keeper for Tales from the Crypt, gives some commentary and introductions to stories.Continue Reading

Review: The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick Delaney

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 11, 2021February 10, 2021ReviewsDave Simms, Oblivion Publishing, Patrick Delaney, Reviews, The House that Fell from the SkyLeave a comment

cover of The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick Delaney The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick Delaney
Oblivion Publishing (September 2020)
566 pages; $28.99 hardcover; $17.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

This is a great fall book — perfectly placed for those who miss the weird horror of Ray Bradbury and Bentley Little but are aching for something new. Patrick Delaney has arrived with a strong entry into horror that is tough to classify here — is it weird horror, cosmic horror, or something else? Read on. The journey (quite long at 566 pages) is a wild and rewarding one.Continue Reading

Review: Hearts Strange and Dreadful by Tim McGregor

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 8, 2021February 2, 2021ReviewsHearts Strange and Dreadful, Mother Horror, Off Limits Press, Reviews, Sadie Hartmann, Tim McGregorLeave a comment

Hearts Strange and Dreadful by Tim McGregor
Off Limits Press (February 15, 2021)
276 pages; $16 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

My favorite book series for the longest time was “The Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. These books were set in the American Midwest in the late 1800s.
Hearts Strange and Dreadful transports us to New England in 1821 and I, for one, could not have been more eager to make the trip back in time to this familiar era.Continue Reading

Billy Summers by Stephen King: A Brand New Novel About A Killer For Hire!

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 5, 2021Breaking NewsLeave a comment

Billy Summers
by Stephen King
A Brand New Novel About A Killer For Hire!

Stephen King’s JUST ANNOUNCED new novel is called Billy Summers, and it concerns a killer for hire who is the best in the business, but he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first, there is one last hit…

Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?

How about everything.

Part war story, part love letter to small town America and the people who live there, Billy Summers features one of the most compelling and surprising duos in Stephen King fiction, who set out to avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. It’s about love, luck, fate, and a complex hero with one last shot at redemption.

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

Revelations: The Horror Radio of Quiet, Please!

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 5, 2021January 31, 2021RevelationsColumns, Danse Macabre, Horror, Kevin Lucia, Quiet Please, radio, RevelationsLeave a comment

Banner for Revelations, the column written by Kevin Lucia for Cemetery Dance

I apologize for my absence. This past summer I had major reconstructive surgery on my foot. Unfortunately, it took a lot out of me. However, I’m ready to resume my exploration of the works of horror which have played a role in my development as a writer, so I hope you’ll rejoin me on this journey.

For those new to this column, it began several years ago as I began reflecting on an experience which sent me on a quest through the works of horror writers who came before me. Up until then, I’d been a faithful reader of the Holy Trinity: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Peter Straub. Also, whatever Leisure Fiction was putting out at the time. However, after that fateful evening with F. Paul Wilson, Tom Monteleone, and Stuart David Schiff, I began searching out writers who had previously been only names to me, and nothing more.Continue Reading

Review: Devil’s Night: Bite-Sized Horror for Halloween by Pippa Bailey and Myk Pilgrim

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 3, 2021January 31, 2021ReviewsAnton Cancre, Bite-Sized Horror for Halloween, Devil's Night, Myk Pilgrim, Pippa Bailey, Pugnacious Press, ReviewsLeave a comment

Devil’s Night: Bite-Sized Horror for Halloween by Pippa Bailey and Myk Pilgrim
Pugnacious Press (May 2020)
111 pages; $9.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I generally don’t spend time talking about the personalities of writers when reviewing their work. Here, though, personality is the point of the whole thing. Pippa Bailey and Myk Pilgrim have established themselves as playful, boisterous members of the horror community over the years they have been a part of it. They walk that line between the dark and the heart and the weird little dancey places in between very well and it comes across clearly that this is just who they are.Continue Reading

Things I Didn’t Know My Father Knew: The Best Short Stories of Peter Crowther

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 2, 2021Breaking NewsLeave a comment

We’re pleased to announce we’ll be publishing Things I Didn’t Know My Father Knew: The Best Short Stories of Peter Crowther later this year, and with the low print run and Pete’s devoted following, we don’t expect this one to last long at all!

About the Book:
The newest collection by acclaimed British horror master Peter Crowther, these stories are the very best of his incredible short works of horror and suspense:

Things I Didn’t Know My Father Knew: An unusual visitor rolls into town one day under cover of a thick fog . . . just to touch base with someone he maybe once knew.
All We Know of Heaven: A small boy finds the answer to his and his father’s dilemma in the legend of King Arthur and his mystical sword, Excalibur.
Tomorrow Eyes: A Runyonesque gambler discovers the strangest set of dice you ever saw being rolled on a cloth.
Some Burial Place, Vast and Dry: The lonely survivor of a long-ago space mission receives a visit from a hauntingly familiar UFO.
The Musician of Bremen, GA: Cal Williston, who can play the best version of ‘Moonlight In Vermont’ since Chet Baker teamed up with Gerry Mulligan.
Boxing Day: A small-town crook about to fall under the spell of London rediscovers his wife.
Keepsakes: PI. Koko Tate pays his mom a visit on Mother’s Day.
Too Short A Death: A modern-day poet meets the long-deceased Weldon Kees’s greatest literary creation.
Eater: The cops at an off-the-beaten-track late-night precinct house have got more than they bargained for in one of the cells.
Sitting Pretty: An armchair fashioned out of the wood from the original cross provides a comfort of sorts down the ages.
Dark Times: Two old men tamper with the dark arts and open a gateway that threatens the destructions of the world.
Jewels in the Dust: A couple jaded with their life together are visited by their collective histories.
And, in Songs of Leaving, the imminent impact of a county-sized piece of space debris brings to the remnants of humanity a multitude of old friends to witness the fall of mankind.

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

Review: The Searching Dead by Ramsey Campbell

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 1, 2021January 31, 2021ReviewsMother Horror, Ramsey Campbell, Reviews, Sadie Hartmann, The Searching Dead, The Three Births of DoalothLeave a comment

The Searching Dead by Ramsey Campbell
Flame Tree Press (February 16th, 2021)
256 pages; hardcover $24.95; $14.95 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

“The Three Births of Daoloth” series is a trilogy that was previously released in hardcover, limited editions by PS Publishing. Now, the series is getting a reprint by Flame Tree Press and is poised to get a whole new fanbase for this epic, cosmic horror story.Continue Reading

Horror Habits: Kealan Patrick Burke

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 29, 2021January 20, 2021Horror HabitsColumns, Horror Habits, John Brhel, Kealan Patrick BurkeLeave a comment

banner reads Horror Habits

Author Kealan Patrick Burke — Kealan Patrick Burke

I’ve always been curious about how creators create. As a creator myself, I know it’s not some magical process where you just sit there and the muse descends from the clouds and bestows upon you a complete story, film, painting, etc. It’s hard work, and the process differs for everyone.

Horror Habits is an interview series that lifts the veil on the writing process for writers of dark fiction. No, your favorite horror writer isn’t sitting in some gloomy castle, penning their masterworks under candlelight (hit me up if that is how you work, though!). They’re sitting at their laptops, plugging away on a word processor, and possibly eating trail mix along the way. From outlining to music choices, this series will give you some insight as to how some of today’s best horror writers get their words to the page. First up: Kealan Patrick Burke. Continue Reading

Review: Last Dance by Hanna Schroy

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 27, 2021January 20, 2021Reviews, The Comic VaultHanna Schroy, Iron Circus Comics, Joshua Gage, Last Dance, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

Last Dance by Hanna Schroy
Iron Circus Comics (January 2021)
200 pages; $11.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Hanna Schroy is a cartoonist and illustrator living in Austin. She has participated in a multitude of self-published anthologies including Girls! Girls! Girls! curated by Alex Perkins and Thicker Than Blood curated by Mengmeng Liu. She is a long-time dance enthusiast and recent amateur gardener. Her newest endeavor is the middle-grade graphic novel Last Dance.Continue Reading

Review: Eight Cylinders by Jason Parent

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 25, 2021January 18, 2021ReviewsCrystal Lake Publishing, Eight Cylinders, Jason Parent, Mother Horror, Reviews, Sadie HartmannLeave a comment

cover of Eight Cylinders by Jason Parent Eight Cylinders by Jason Parent
Crystal Lake Publishing (November 2020)
124 pages; $10.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

Fast cars are not my thing. That whole Fast and Furious movie franchise? Nope. Never saw those. The cover of this book with that muscle car tearing through a desert landscape and the title Eight Cylinders doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. What does appeal to me is this slim (just over one hundred pages) novella is written by Jason Parent and published by Crystal Lake Publishing. I’m a big fan of both. Crystal Lake consistently publishes quality horror and Parent has a unique storytelling style that I enjoy. Last year, I celebrated his short story, “Russian Dollhouse” from the Midnight in the Graveyard anthology.Continue Reading

Interview: Discussing Damage and Dread with Kevin Quigley

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 22, 2021January 11, 2021InterviewsAndrew J. Rausch, Damage and Dread, Interviews, Kevin QuigleyLeave a comment

banner graphic that says Cemetery Dance Interviews

photo of author Kevin Quigley Massachusetts pop culture scribe and novelist Kevin Quigley’s career began in 1996 at the age of twenty-one when he established his own Stephen King fan site, Charnel House. There he wrote about King’s work in all its various shapes and forms. From there he went on to pen articles and books on King (such as Ink in the Veins: Writing on Stephen King and The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Trivia Book, which he co-wrote with Hans-Ake Lilja and Brian James Freeman) for Cemetery Dance Publications. In addition, he has contributed essays to other writers’ works, such as Stephen Spignesi and Michael Lewis’ Elton John: 50 Years On, Brian James Freeman’s Reading Stephen King, and Anthony Northrup’s forthcoming Stephen King Dollar Baby: The Book, just to name a few. He has also written a book-length study of Blitzen Trapper’s 2008 album Furr. Despite these impressive accomplishments, Quigley’s true passion is writing fiction.

Quigley has only published two novels, I’m On Fire and Roller Disco Saturday Night, although he claims to have written another thirty that are unpublished. At this point in his fiction career, it’s his short fiction that he’s best known for. His short stories have appeared alongside the likes of Stephen King, Peter Straub, Ramsay Campbell, Richard Chizmar, and Clive Barker in the anthologies Shining in the Dark (edited by Hans-Ake Lilja) and Halloween Carnival: Volume Five (edited by Brian James Freeman). He has published two impressive short story collections (both with Cemetery Dance), This Terrestrial Hell (2012) and Damage and Dread (2020). His stories are masterful and cover a lot of ground in terms of scope and tone.

With this in mind, I sat down to talk with Kevin Quigley about his fantastic new collection Damage and Dread and all things writing.Continue Reading

King of Crime: Part I — The Earlier Years

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