Thrilled to share this spectacular cover for my new anthology, WHERE THE SILENT ONES WATCH, created by Dan Sauer! Coming this fall from Hippocampus Press (preorder links below), the anthology features stories and poems by a fantastic line-up of contributors inspired by the literary worlds of William Hope Hodgson.
Stories of the Borderland, the Night Land, the Sargasso Sea, and more!
William Hope Hodgson’s writing life spanned fourteen years, during which he published novels and stories of the adventurous, the fantastic, and the horrific. Best known, perhaps, for his novel, The House on the Borderland, Hodgson wrote several other landmark weird works, including The Boats of the Glen Carrig, The Ghost Pirates, and The Night Land, as well as dozens of short stories. He explored places in the ocean where realities overlapped, described the horrors of a house built beside a gap between dimensions, and transported readers to a desolate future, where abhuman monstrosities prowl. He displayed imaginative visions of staggering scope unlike any others in literature.
In this anthology, twenty-seven authors and poets visit Hodgson’s worlds and concepts to dig deep into his mythologies and delve into fresh mysteries in unexpected times, locations, and interpretations. Whether or not you’ve read Hodgson’s works, these visions of Hodgsonian horror will lead you into strange, liminal, and frightening new landscapes of the weird and fantastic.
Authors include: Linda D. Addison • David Agranoff • Meghan Arcuri • Sal Ciano • Michael Cisco • L.E. Daniels • Andy Davidson • Aaron Dries • Patrick Freivald • Teel James Glenn • Maxwell Ian Gold • Nancy Holder • Todd Keisling • John Langan • Adrian Ludens • Lee Murray • Lisa Morton • Peter Rawlik • Sam Rebelein • Ann K. Schwader • Steve Rasnic Tem • Tim Waggoner • Wendy N. Wagner • Kyla Lee Ward • Robert Waters • L. Marie Wood • Stephanie Wytovich
I’m pleased to announce my forthcoming, all-new anthology of stories and poems inspired by the writings and worlds of William Hope Hodgson, WHERE THE SILENT ONES WATCH, to be released in 2024 by Hippocampus Press. Stay tuned for announcements about the contributors, the cover, and the publication date.
Far ahead down this strange and winding road await fourteen visions of alternate realities. Worlds of the distant past and the far future. Worlds where people forget they possess the power to fly, where artists’ creations overtake their creators, and where the bond of human and machine defines existence. Worlds where magic changed history, reality runs fluid, and planets imprison terrible secrets. Worlds within worlds where technology makes people into ghosts who possess bodies, where refugees from another dimension shatter everyday life, and where answers to the mysteries of existence lie on the far side of an all-encompassing darkness.
From a forgotten sitcom about walruses to the truth behind an interplanetary war, from the steampunk streets of New Alexandria to an enigmatic flood world where people surrender themselves to things that live beneath the water, each of these stories marks a single stop….on the Hierophant Road. Featuring the all-new novella, “Long the Night and Low the Flame.”
“Chambers enthralls with this disquieting and eclectic collection of bizarro tales which span the galaxy, the ages, and the human psyche, On the Hierophant Road reasserting his role as a veritable master of new pulp.”—Lee Murray, two-time Bram Stoker Award®-Winner and author of Grotesque: Monster Stories
“…the work really sings when its weirdness is married to narrative tropes readers know well. Readers searching for something unexpected will find a lot to admire in this ambitious, inventive collection.” —Library Journal
“These tales are united by their slightly askew proximity to reality with just enough detail to immerse readers in the well-built worlds and sympathetic protagonists, both of which drive each story. All are satisfyingly unsettling, with tones ranging from existential terror to an uneasy sense of awe. For fans of the new breed of dark-speculative-fiction writers who actively play with genre confines to create reads that are inventive, thought-provoking, and creepily fun…” —Booklist starred review, Becky Spratford
Now available in hardcover and paperback from Moonstone Books, my newest Kolchak novella. For the first time Carl Kolchak encounters an evil so monstrous and unimaginable he must team up with Blackshirt, Flint, Foxy Brown, Mr. Keen, Pat Novak for Hire, and T.H.E. Cat to confront the threats in the darkness. Kolchak and the Night Stalkers: The Faceless God launches a new era in Kolchak stories.
Join me and fellow local horror author, Robert P. Ottone, for an evening of “campfire stories” about Long Island’s eeriest local legends and myths! Courtesy of the Syosset Public Library, we’ll present, via Zoom webinar, the strange lore and even stranger facts surrounding such notable LI mysteries as the ghosts of Sweet Hollow Road, the Amityville Horror, Men in Black and UFO sightings in Mt. Misery, the Lady of Lake Ronkonkoma, Camp Hero and the Montauk Project, Mary’s Grave and many others. Sign on using Zoom Webinar ID 875 2624 5970, no registration needed, and join us for a presentation perfect for summer chills–to be followed by Q&A. Part of the Summer Scares program sponsored by the Horror Writers Association.
“I pray God will curse the writer, as the writer has cursed the world with this beautiful, stupendous creation, terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in its truth…”–Robert W. Chambers, “The Repairer of Reputations”
Featuring Stories By: Marc Abbott • Linda D. Addison • Meghan Arcuri • Greg Chapman • J.G. Faherty • Trevor Firetog • Patrick Freivald • Carol Gyzander • Todd Keisling • John Langan • Curtis Lawson • Adrian Ludens • Lisa Morton • Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. • Sarah Read • Kathleen Scheiner • Ann K. Schwader • Darrell Schweitzer • J. Daniel Stone • Steven Van Patten • Tim Waggoner • Kaaron Warren
“When I first read The King in Yellow some twenty-five years ago,” said publisher Derrick Hussey, “I experienced a genuine ‘kick’ of otherworldliness that I don’t run across very often. It’s a thrill to feel that frisson again in the works of these modern writers, and an honor to publish their tales.”
Robert W. Chambers’ classic work of weird fiction, “The Repairer of Reputations,” introduced the world to “The King in Yellow,” a play in two acts, banned for its reputed power to drive mad anyone who reads its complete text. “The Yellow Sign,” used the experiences of an artist and his model to elaborate on the mythos of the Yellow King and the Yellow Sign. In those tales Chambers crafted fascinating glimpses of a cosmos populated by conspiracies, government-sanctioned suicide chambers, haunted artists, premonitions of death, unreliable narrators—and dark, enigmatic occurrences tainted by the alien world of Carcosa, where the King rules in his tattered yellow mantle. In Carcosa, black stars rise and Cassilda and Camilla speak and sing. In Carcosa, eyes peer from within pallid masks to gaze across Lake Hali at the setting of twin suns.
“When I began work on this anthology in the summer of 2019, I never imagined how much would change in the world or how eerily relevant the concept of the Pallid Mask referenced in the King in Yellow stories would become. I’m thrilled to present this collection of amazing, weird stories from a group of supremely talented writers.”
In this anthology, twenty-two authors who found the Yellow Sign, share their harrowing visions of worlds shaped by its influence in stories and poems inspired by Chamber’s foundational works of weird horror. From the personal to the historic, from the macabre to the fantastic, the stories and poems gathered here illuminate new, unexpected realities shaped by the King in Yellow, under the sway of the Yellow Sign, or in the grip of madnesses inspired by their power. What terrifying knowledge and unsettling experiences have these creative souls ushered into our world? What visions do they bring from Carcosa, from beneath the mantle of the Yellow King—from under twin suns?
We are especially pleased to include a previously unpublished novella, “less… light…” by the late Joseph S. Pulver, whose stories and anthologies did so much to help the King in Yellow mythos stand on its own in weird fiction.
Coming this summer from Hippocampus Press, Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign, featuring stories by some of the most powerful writers in dark fiction, spinning their visions of “The King in Yellow.” Look for the cover reveal, with art by Aeron Alfrey, on Ink Heist, Monday, May 3.
I’m honored to have contributed an essay, “The Birth and Death of John Constantine: A Critical Analysis of Hellblazer #4 and #40,” to this new non-fiction collection exploring the influence and lore of what is probably the most important and influential modern horror comic book series. The original run of Hellblazer, 1 through 40, written by Jamie Delano had an incredible influence on my work as a writer, equal to that of reading other genre authors, such as Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, and Shirley Jackson. To be in a book with a foreword by Mr. Delano is a genuine treat. If you’re a Hellblazer fan or want to learn more about the character, give this book a look.
Many thanks to all the contributors who have made this a fantasitc collection and especially thanks to editors Rich Handley and Lou Tambone for their tireless work in editing this book–and for including me! THe book is now on sale via Amazon and The Sequart Organization. From the book description:
“British occultist John Constantine elevated Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, and it wasn’t long before John had his own spinoff comic titled John Constantine: Hellblazer. This anthology, edited by Rich Handley and Lou Tambone (of Sequart’s Somewhere Beyond the Heavens: Exploring Battlestar Galactica), examines the mage’s history from his earliest appearances to the present – not only in Swamp Thing and Hellblazer, but on film and television as well – with a special foreword by none other than Hellblazer’s creator himself, Jamie Delano. Constantine has a weakness for narcotics, alcohol, and sex; an unnatural obsession with the occult; and a long list of lovers he’s betrayed, hurt, and discarded. He’s slain his twin brother in the womb, taunted Satan, outwitted demons and angels, been trapped in Hell, and even fathered an elemental. No matter what the universe throws at him, he somehow always seems to come out on top… though his loved ones have usually ended up caught in the crossfire. At times, John can be a bastard. He has questionable hygiene and a lack of ethics, and he’ll likely hurt anyone foolish enough to let him into their lives. But John is nonetheless a hero – well, a Byronic hero, in any case. As fans, we wouldn’t have him any other way. The book features essays by Ade Brown, John E. Boylan, James Chambers, Julianne Clancy, Nancy A. Collins, Brian Cronin, Joseph Dilworth Jr., Sabrina Fried, Alex Galer, Richard Gray, Robert Greenberger, Rich Handley, Robert Jeschonek, Ross Johnson, Martín A. Pérez, Draško Roganović, Frank Schildiner, Tony Simmons, Lou Tambone, John Trumbull, James Wilkinson, and Genevieve Williams, with a cover by Leah Mangue.
I’m pleased to share the latest review for On the Night Border from book blogger, Bark at the Ghouls:”Do yourself a favor and read this one if you need some fiction that’ll transport you to another world for a little bit. I don’t think you’ll regret it.” Read the full review here.
In case you missed, back in April, reader extraordinaire, S.D. Vassallo (https://twitter.com/diovassallo) read an excerpt from my story “What’s in the Bag, Dad?” in On the Night Border and posted a video over on Twitter. It’s an awesome treat to hear my work read by others, especially when it sounds so good. Much gratitude to S.D.! You should follow him on Twitter for excellent reviews and recs for authors and books.
I’m honored and thrilled to see that On the Night Border, published by Raw Dog Screaming Press, appears on the Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot! It’s wonderful to see this collection continue to receive such a positive response from readers and the horror community! Congratulations to all those whose work appears on the ballot. This is a pretty amazing list, which I’ve posted here in full, and if you’re looking for some great horror you will certainly find it here.
The 2019 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot
The
Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to release the Preliminary
Ballot for the 2019 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA (see http://www.horror.org/) is
the premier writersorganization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with
over 1,600 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards®in various
categories since 1987 (see http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/).
Works
on this ballot are not referred to as “nominees” or “finalists”. Only works
appearing on the Final Ballot may be referred to as “nominated works” and their
authors as “finalists”.
The
HWA Board of Trustees and the Bram Stoker Awards®Committee
congratulate all those appearing on the Preliminary Ballot. Notes about the
voting process will appear after the ballot listing.
Tanabe, Gou – H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains
of Madness Volume 1 (Dark Horse Manga)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
Breukelaar,
J.S. – Like Ripples on a Blank Shore (Collision: Stories)
(Meerkat Press, LLC)
Cluley,
Ray – Adrenaline Junkies (The Porcupine Boy and
Other Anthological Oddities) (Crossroad Press)
Jones, Pam – Ivy
Day (Spaceboy Books LLC)
LaValle, Victor – Up
from Slavery (Weird Tales Magazine#363)(Weird Tales
Inc.)
Manzetti, Alessandro – The Keeper
of Chernobyl (Omnium Gatherum)
Serafini, Matt – Rites
of Extinction (Grindhouse Press)
Smith,
Farah Rose – Anonyma (Ulthar Press)
Taborska, Anna – The
Cat Sitter (Shadowcats) (Black Shuck Books)
Tantlinger,
Sara – To Be Devoured (Unnerving)
Thomas, Richard – Ring
of Fire (The Seven Deadliest) (Cutting Block Books)
Warren, Kaaron – Into
Bones Like Oil (Meerkat Shorts)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
Chapman,
Greg – “The Book of Last Words” (This Sublime Darkness and
Other Dark Stories) (Things in the Well Publishing)
Kiste,
Gwendolyn – “The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy
Westenra’s Diary)” (Nightmare MagazineNov. 2019, Issue 86)
Landry,
Jess – “Bury Me in Tar and Twine” (Tales of the LostVolume 1: We All
Lose Something!) (Things in the Well Publishing)
Little,
John R. – “Anniversary” (Dark Tides: A Charity Horror Anthology)
(Gestalt Media)
MacKenzie,
Brooke – “The Elevator Game”(Who Knocks?
Magazine Issue #2)
O’Quinn, Cindy –
“Lydia” (The Twisted Book of Shadows) (Twisted Publishing)
Serna-Grey,
Ben – “Where Gods Dance”(Apex Magazine Issue #118)
Waggoner, Tim –
“A Touch of Madness”(The Pulp Horror Book of Phobias)
(LVP Publications)
Westlake,
Jack – “Glass Eyes in Porcelain Faces” (Black Static Issue #70) (TTS
Press)
White, Gordon
B. – “Birds of Passage” (Twice-Told: A Collection of Doubles) (Chthonic
Matter)
Superior Achievement in a Fiction
Collection
Chambers, James – On the Night Border (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Chiang,
Ted – Exhalation: Stories (Knopf)
Evenson,
Brian – Song for the Unraveling of the World (Coffee
House Press)
Hodson, Brad
C. – Where Carrion Gods Dance (Washington Park Press)
Howard,
Kat – A Cathedral of Myth and Bone: Stories(Gallery/Saga Press)
Johnson,
L.S. – Rare Birds: Stories (Traversing Z Press)
Jonez, Kate – Lady
Bits (Trepidatio Publishing)
Langan,
John – Sefira and Other Betrayals (Hippocampus
Press)
Read, Sarah – Out
of Water (Trepidatio Publishing)
Tremblay,
Paul – Growing Things and Other Stories (William Morrow)
Superior Achievement in a Screenplay
Aster,
Ari – Midsommar (B-Reel Films, Square Peg)
Busick,
Guy and Murphy, Ryan – Ready or Not (Mythology
Entertainment)
Duffer
Brothers, The – Stranger Things (Season 3, Chapter Eight:
The Battle of Starcourt) (Netflix)
Eggers,
Robert and Eggers, Max – The Lighthouse (A24, New
Regency Pictures, RT Features)
Flanagan,
Mike – Doctor Sleep (Warner Bros., Intrepid
Pictures/Vertigo Entertainment)
Gilroy,
Dan – Velvet Buzzsaw (Netflix)
Hageman,
Dan and Hageman, Kevin – Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1212
Entertainment, CBS Films, DDY, Entertainment One, Rolling Hills Productions,
Sean Daniel Company, Starlight International Media)
López, Issa – Tigers
Are Not Afraid (Filmadora Nacional, Peligrosa)
Peele,
Jordan – Us (Monkeypaw Productions, Perfect World
Pictures, Dentsu, Fuji Television Network, Universal
Pictures)
Sutherland,
Teresa – The Wind (Soapbox Films, Divide/Conquer, Mind Hive
Films)
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
Beltran,
Patrick and Ward, D. Alexander – The Seven Deadliest(Cutting
Block Books)
Brozek,
Jennifer – A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods (Pulse
Publishing)
Cade,
Octavia – Sharp & Sugar Tooth: Women Up to No Good(Upper
Rubber Boot Books)
Datlow,
Ellen – Echoes (Gallery/Saga Press)
Golden,
Christopher and Moore, James A. – The Twisted Book of Shadows (Twisted
Publishing)
Guignard,
Eric J. – Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and
Hot Rod Horror (Dark Moon Books)
Johnson,
Eugene and Dillon, Steve – Tales of the Lost Volume 1: We All
Lose Something! (Things in the Well Publishing)
Jones,
Stephen – Best New Horror #29 (PS Publishing)
Schweitzer, Darrell – Mountains
of Madness Revealed (PS Publishing)
Wilson,
Robert S. – Nox Pareidolia (Nightscape Press)
Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction
Beal, Eleanor and Greenaway, Jonathan – Horror
and Religion: New Literary Approaches to Theology, Race,
and Sexuality(University of Wales Press)
Earle, Harriet E.H. – Gender, Sexuality,
and Queerness in American Horror Story: Critical Essays (McFarland)
Eighteen-Bisang, Robert and Miller,
Elizabeth – Drafts of Dracula (Tellwell Talent)
Grafius, Brandon R. – Reading the Bible with
Horror(Lexington Books/Fortress Academic)
Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra – Masks in
Horror Cinema: Eyes Without Faces (University
of Wales Press)
Kachuba, John B. – Shapeshifters: A
History (Reaktion Books)
Kröger, Lisa and Anderson, Melanie R.
– Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative
Fiction(Quirk Books)
Stobbart, Dawn – Videogames and Horror: From
Amnesia to Zombies, Run! (University of Wales Press)
Tibbetts, John C. – The Furies of Marjorie
Bowen (McFarland)
Volk, Stephen – Coffinmaker’s Blues:
Collected Writings on Terror (PS Publishing)
Superior Achievement
in Short Non-Fiction
Clasen, Mathias – Evolution, Cognition, and Horror:
A Précis of Why Horror Seduces (Journal of Cognitive
Historiography Vol 4, No 2)
Hurley, Gavin F. – Between Hell and Earth:
Rhetorical Appropriation of Religious Space within Hellraiser (The
Spaces and Places of Horror, Vernon
Press)
Kiste, Gwendolyn – Magic, Madness, and
Women Who Creep: The Power of Individuality in the Work of Charlotte Perkins
Gilman (Vastarien: A Literary Journal Vol. 2, Issue 1)
Liaguno, Vince A. – Slasher Films Made Me Gay:
The Queer Appeal and Subtext of the Genre (LGBTQ+ Horror Month:
9/1/2019, Ginger Nuts of Horror)
Mann, Craig Ian – The Beast Without: The
Cinematic Werewolf as a (Counter)Cultural Metaphor (Horror Studies
Journal Volume 10.1)
Renner, Karen J. – The Evil
Aging Women of American Horror Story (Elder Horror: Essays
on Film’s Frightening Images of Aging, McFarland)
Robinson, Kelly – Film’s First Lycanthrope: 1913’s
The Werewolf (Scary Monsters Magazine #114)
Waggoner, Tim – Riding Out the Storms (Writing
in the Dark)
Weich, Valerie E. – Lord Byron’s Whipping
Boy: Dr. John William Polidori and the 200th Anniversary of
The Vampyre(Famous Monsters of Filmland, Issue #291)
Worth, Aaron – From the Books of Wandering:
Fin-De-Siècle Poetics of a Supernatural Figure (The Times Literary
Supplement)
Superior Achievement in a Poetry
Collection
Addison,
Linda D. and Manzetti, Alessandro – The Place of Broken
Things (Crystal Lake Publishing)
Cade,
Octavia – Mary Shelley Makes a Monster (Aqueduct Press)
Coffman,
Frank – The Coven’s Hornbook & Other Poems (Bold
Venture Press)
“James Chambers breathes new life into the zombie genre with the riveting THE DEAD BEAR WITNESS! Weird, heartbreaking, funny, and exciting! Two decaying thumbs up!” —Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of PATIENT ZERO and ROT & RUIN
The best part of this excellent collection is that Chambers’ joy for writing horror shines through in each story. He is good at writing, yes, but it is also clear that he is thoroughly enjoying himself. And that joy makes reading this collection even better experience.
And if that isn’t enough in the way of kind words, the stories in On the Night Border are also compared favorably to the work of John Langan, Stephen Graham Jones, and Carmen Maria Machado. Good company, indeed. Click through for the full review.
As a bonus you also get Becky’s review of Kathleen Kaufmann’s new folk horror novel, Diabhal.
Many thanks to A.E. Siraki for her thoughtful review of On the Night Border!
Here are stories of madness, torture, violence, settling scores, pain, and more. There are races against time, swerves to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, and haunting descriptions that remain long after the book has finished.
Today is publication day for my new horror collection, On the Night Border, published by Raw Dog Screaming Press, with an introduction by Linda Addison. Thrilled to have this in print! I hope you enjoy it!
Dark things stir in the night. When the world sleeps and quiet settles in, shadows assume sinister shapes, guilt and regret well up from the mind’s deepest recesses, and the lonely face their greatest fears. Darkness bares the secret truths whispered on the lips of the lost and the desperate. At night, terrors come alive. For those who journey too far into the dark, no escape remains—but there is a place from which to view these nightmares, a place…on the night border.
The fifteen stories collected here come from the last edge of the light and deliver glimpses into the dreadful, the mysterious, and the strange. These stories offer readers unsettling and weird visions from across the border, visions out of history and from the world around us, visions of cosmic horror, personal madness, and agonizing heartbreak.
A literary legend confronts the reality of a chaotic, uncaring universe. A young girl grows up in the shadow of a ferocious monster. A man seeks to kill his memories. Love defeats death in an odd world not unlike our own. An artist’s drawings unlock a terrifying truth of his adopted city. A mask burns. The mother of plagues offers a deadly future.
Readers will find here all of these and many other visions of what lies on the far side of the line, including, by special arrangement, stories of Lin Carter’s Anton Zarnak and Kolchak, the Night Stalker. Walk up to the edge. Listen to the whispers on the wind. Peer across at the terrors beyond from your vantage point…on the night border!
What They’re Saying
“Leave the comfort of what you think you know behind and journey through the dark imaginings of James Chambers, an author with the talent to turn ordinary places and familiar people into our worst nightmares in this latest collection. Get this book now!” —Rena Mason, Bram Stoker Award® winning author of The Evolutionist and East End Girls
“In his new collection On the Night Border, James Chambers tells stories with the uneasy familiarity of urban legends or tales told around a campfire on a chilly fall evening. Some of the stories you may have read, others leap out at you for the first time. “Kolchak The Night Stalker: The Lost Boy” fluidly takes you back to that ’70s television show, while the closer, “Red Mami,” is a stunner. Highly recommended!” —Multi Bram Stoker Award-Nominated John F.D. Taff, Author of Little Black Spots and The Fearing
“On the Night Border is an assemblage of wonderfully-horrific tales by a writer madly in love with language. The fictions within are chambers of storytelling madness that, once fully explored, each and every one, infect the reader into wanting more, more, more.” —Michael Bailey, author of Psychotropic Dragon and Seven Minutes
Cemetery Dance has now published the new e-book edition of The Dead Bear Witness, my classic novella of walking dead horror and the first volume in my Corpse Fauna novella series! Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Cemetery Dance.
Sentenced to life after a bank robbery gone bad, Cornell thought his worst nightmare had come true—and that he deserved it. After a stint in solitary, though, he learned his nightmare had only started: While Cornell rotted in isolation, all around the world the dead had returned to life.
Inside the prison walls, Cornell should’ve been well protected.
He didn’t reckon on the stone cold killer who demanded his help breaking out, nor the fanatic warden who forced him to help “save the souls” of other prisoners. He didn’t count on being snared in a web of lies, violence, and betrayal. He didn’t expect his survival to depend on fighting his way back to freedom before the eyes of the watchful dead. Now as nooses sway over the prison yard, Cornell can almost feel one tightening around his neck, and freedom seems so far away….
Exciting news! The Horror Writers Association has announced the final ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards®, and A New York State of Fright is nominated in for Superior Achievement in Anthology! Congratulations to all our contributors, my co-editors–April Grey and Robert Masterson–and our publisher, Derrick Hussey, Hippocampus Press. Congrats as well to all the other nominees in our category! You can read the full ballot here.
Enter the shadows of New York’s dark secrets and haunted past!
From a city and state that have witnessed all manner of menace—from serial killers and corrupt political machines to natural disasters and terrorist attacks—come twenty-four visions of dread from New York horror authors—all to benefit the next generation of New York writers. Presenting stories set in New York locations, A NEW YORK STATE OF FRIGHT gathers tales by new and established writers who give voice to New York’s everyday fears, macabre mysteries, and worst nightmares.
To help New York’s rich literary tradition endure into the future, the authors, editors, and publisher of A NEW YORK STATE OF FRIGHT pledge to contribute all proceeds to New York City’s Girls Write Now non-profit organization, which pairs at-risk teen women interested in writing with professional writing and career mentors. Find out more at www.girlswritenow.org.
Once, lord of lyrics; once, prince of peace… Now a demon let off his leash…
No greater musician than Gorge ever lived in the Realm of the Sidhe.
No faerie musician ever delved so deeply into the taboo songs and the forbidden music—the Way of the Bone. Yet, Gorge refused to deny himself their temptations.
In reward his true love betrayed him, and the faerie kings and queens who once praised him stripped him of his magic and exiled him to the mortal world. Left to go mad and die, Gorge discovered new life in the arms of a mortal woman, Delilah—and new magic in the music that sings in the souls of mortals. Decades later, Gorge walks a dark path through the musical underground of New York City. He lives a secret life, hiding from the fae, waging a guerilla war of punk rock, and wielding his guitar like a weapon as he gathers magic and recharges his power. Until the day he’s strong enough to return home and open the Way of the Bone to all the Faerie Kingdoms. But the mortal world is far more dangerous than it seems
Gorge never expected to discover such raw power, almost beyond his control, among the mortals who worship his music. Nor did he count on a mortal wizard to discover his secrets or turn the ancient weapons of the fae against him. Caught in a dangerous game of magic, music, and lies, Gorge must find the truth and uncover the source of his enemy’s magic. Survival and love hang in the balance. And Gorge has only his music to protect him, only a song for any hope of salvation….
“James Chambers writes stories that are paced fast enough to friction burn a reader’s eyeballs.” —Horror Reader.com
“Three Chords of Chaos is a darkly rich story, starring an exiled faery and his lady love. Mr. Chambers has created a cast of intriguing and charismatic characters in a music and magic fueled world.” —Bibliophilic Book Blog
“Three Chords of Chaos is a well-written, compelling story interwoven with an authentic description of the famed punk rock culture that developed in the early 80s. A very entertaining and enlightening novella. Highly recommended.” –Gene O’Neill, The Cal Wild Chronicles
“In this dark urban fantasy James Chambers plays a thrilling riff on the razor’s edge where music and magic meet. Sex, drugs, Faustian bargains, and rebellious Fae make Three Chords of Chaos my kind of faery tale.” –Douglas Wynne, author of The Devil of Echo Lake and Steel Breeze
Raw Dog Screaming Press is excited to announce that a two-book deal has been signed with author James Chambers. The agreement is for a pair of short story collections to be published over the next two years. The first, On the Night Border, is horror themed, features the Bram Stoker-nominated short story “A Song Left Behind in the Aztakea Hills,” and will be released later in 2019. Poet and author Linda D. Addison has agreed to write the introduction. The second collection, The Price of Faces, focuses on Chambers’ science fiction and fantasy themed stories and will be released in 2020. Italian artist Daniele Serra has been commissioned to paint both covers.
“After knowing Jim for so long we’re very happy to finally be able to work with him on a full-length project,” says RDSP owner John Lawson. They first met at Horrorfind in 2003 and one of Chambers’ stories was included in the second book RDSP ever published, Sick: An Anthology of Illness. “I can’t wait for people to read On the Night Border,” says editor Jennifer Barnes. “While many readers may be familiar with Jim’s Stoker-nominated story, there are several fantastic unpublished works included and it’s a great mix of his historically-inspired and Lovecraftian tales with more visceral present day horror. I was very impressed with the depth and quality of this collection.”
Jim has been contributing to the horror genre for many years and in more ways than one. While his writing has been recognized with a Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and a Stoker nomination for his short story “A Song Left Behind in the Aztakea Hills” he has also been a tireless volunteer for his fellow authors receiving both the Richard Laymon Award and the Silver Hammer Award for his volunteer work with the HWA. He coordinates the New York chapter of the HWA and has supported endeavors like the Girls Write Now charity as an editor of the anthology A New York State of Fright and helping to organize a reading to celebrate Women in Horror month.
A release date will be set soon. Reviewers interested in receiving advance copies can contact books (at) rawdogscreaming.com.
