LOOKING BACKWARD IN DARKNESS by HWA Member Kathryn Ptacek

Author: Kathryn Ptacek These nineteen intriguing fantasy and horror tales challenge the very heart and soul of the reader. From unhappy husbands and beleaguered wives, to those individuals living completely on their own, these hard-edged and gritty psychological gems present life--and death--on the edge. Whatever the outcome, there's always a price to be paid... Among the stories included are: "Three, Four, Shut the Door," "Bruja," "The Grotto," "Hair," "The Home," "Snow," and "Each Night, Each Year." First-rate supernatural fiction by a masterful storyteller. "Each Night, Each Year" was a Bram Stoker-award finalist. Publisher: Borgo Press Release_Date: March 8, 2013 ISBN_10:…

THE SPELLCASTER’S GRIMOIRE by HWA Member Mark All

Author: Mark All estselling witchcraft author Trish Sinclair has a shameful secret: sheâ s a lousy spellcaster, and the spells in her books belong to others. So when a dying warlock entrusts her with an ancient and powerful grimoire, she runs for her life from his murderer, psychotic witch Kate Cavanaugh. Kate pursues Trish relentlessly to obtain the grimoire, which holds spells to command the fearsome power of a magic crystal hidden in town When the town coven refuses to help Trish protect the grimoire, she is forced to turn to cynical warlock Aidan McCarthy, who has a secret agenda…

BLACK TEA AND OTHER TALES by HWA Member Samuel Marolla

Author: Samuel Marolla Includes three stories: Black Tea, Crocodiles and The Janara. The first two stories were previously published in hard copy (in Italian) in the collection Malarazza (Epix Mondadori, 2009), while the last one, The Janara, was published by the author in 2011 in ebook. This new edition offers a fully revised English version of the stories, edited by the Bram Stoker Awards winner Benjamin Kane Ethridge. The collection also contains an introduction by another Bram Stoker Awards winner, Gene O'Neill, entitled: A box of lovely dark chocolate. Samuel Marolla's stories, are different as for atmosphere, setting and use…

BROKEN by HWA Member Weldon Burge

Author: Weldon Burge This is a collection of five horror/suspense stories by Weldon Burge, including: SIZZLE -- A philandering doctor meets a hill man who wants the "sizzle" cut out of his brain ANOTHER HIGHWAY FATALITY -- A college girl, driving alone late at night during a heavy storm, is stalked by a car with a missing headlight WHITE HELL, WISCONSIN -- A snow plow driver, plowing back roads in rural Wisconsin during a blizzard, fights for his life against elusive assailants PERMANENT DETENTION -- A stressed-out teenager believes his History teacher is actually one of the living dead BLUE…

Interview with Bruce Boston at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Poet Guest of Honor, Bruce Boston. Darkeva: There’s definitely a strong contingent of poets among the sci-fi/fantasy/horror communities, and you’re certainly one of the most accomplished with publications in all the top magazines. Tell us a bit more about how you got your first few sales. BB: I was publishing poetry in literary magazines, mostly non-paying, some of it speculative, throughout the 1970s, though I didn’t yet have the label “speculative” for it. I’d also sold a few science fiction stories to commercial anthologies. In 1978 I saw a market report for a magazine titled…

Interview with John Joseph Adams at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Editor Guest of Honor, John Joseph Adams. Darkeva: You’re one of the most respected editors in the genre fiction community, and have edited many bestselling anthologies. Is there a particular favorite among them that you worked on? JJA: That’s a hard question to answer–kind of like asking a parent to name their favorite child. Of course every parent secretly has one, but never says which it is out of fear of hurting their other children’s feelings. In this case, the ones whose feelings could be hurt are, of course, not the anthologies themselves, but the…

Interview with Glenn Chadbourne at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Artist Guest of Honor, Glenn Chadbourne. Darkeva: You’re one of the most noted Stephen King artists, particularly for Secretary of Dreams, and your work has frequently appeared in Cemetery Dance. What do you find the most challenging or the most rewarding aspects about being an illustrator working in the horror genre? GC: As for challenges, every new gig is a challenge. I always try to nail down the atmosphere or flavor of a new story I’ve been asked to illustrate, and the challenge is conveying the right sort of mood or impact in the art…

Interview with Caitlín R. Kiernan at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention's Author Guest of Honor, Caitlín R. Kiernan. Darkeva: Although you’re mainly known for your powerful and dark novels such as The Drowning Girl, The Red Tree, Silk, and Low Red Moon among many others, you’re also a prolific comic book writer, most notably for Alabaster, but also with Vertigo for The Girl Who Would Be Death and The Dreaming, spin-offs of sorts from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novels. Tell us a bit about how you came to write for these series, what you enjoy (or least enjoy) about writing for comics, and if you have…

Interview with Amber Benson at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Blogger Darkeva has posted a fascinating interview with World Horror Convention Guest of Honor Amber Benson. Darkeva: In addition to your acting career, you’re also an accomplished film director, producer, and writer, but most people know you for your role as Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As urban fantasy and horror readers already knew you, how did that affect your transition to becoming a novelist? AB: Well, I’d always written – mostly bad poetry and a few short stories and plays – but being on Buffy opened the door, as far as novel/prose is concerned, to a whole new…

GUNSLINGERS & GHOST STORIES by HWA Member David B. Riley (editor)

Author: David B. Riley (editor) Ghosts are not just found in haunted houses. They have a disturbing tendency to turn up where you least expect them: like saloons, brothels, Indian ruinsâ and sometimes even in the middle of a gunfight. Saddle up for a haunted ride through the Wild West. Featuring spooky stories by Joel Jenkins, Dana Bell, Laura Givens, Henrik Ramsager, Kit Volker, Kenneth W. Cain, Adrian Ludens, C. J. Killmer, Darla Upchurch, John Howard & J. A. Campbell. Publisher: Science Fiction Trails Release_Date: 12-1-12 ISBN_10: 0615725848 ISBN_13: 978-0615725848

HAIR SIDE, FLESH SIDE by HWA Member Helen Marshall

Author: Helen Marshall A child receives the body of Saint Lucia of Syracuse for her seventh birthday. A rebelling angel rewrites the Book of Judgement to protect the woman he loves. A young woman discovers the lost manuscript of Jane Austen written on the inside of her skin. A 747 populated by a dying pantheon makes the extraordinary journey to the beginning of the universe. Lyrical and tender, quirky and cutting, Helen Marshallâ s exceptional debut collection weaves the fantastic and the horrific alongside the touchingly human in fifteen modern parables about history, memory, and cost of creating art. 'Masterful…

THE WALLS OF THE CASTLE by HWA Member Tom Piccirilli

Author: Tom From four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, two-time winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and finalist for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Award Tom Piccirilli comes an intense and visceral psychological thriller novella, the first title in the Black Labyrinth imprint illustrated by Gothic artist Santiago caruso. 20% of all hardcover proceeds and 100% of ebook proceeds will be donated directly to author Tom Piccirilli in his fight against brain cancer. In the labyrinthian maze of endless corridors, annexes, and wings of the enormous medical complex known as The Castle prowls a grief-stricken man determined to…

FIRST KISS, LAST BREATH by HWA Member Lee Mather

Author: Lee Mather Andrew Rowly believes the demon he has painted is real. Either that, or he is losing his mind. Then he meets Nor and falls in love. To be with her, to share their first kiss, he must overcome his demon, lest the demon overcomes him first. "Fans of Stephen King are going to love this. You won't sleep until you know how it ends." —Karina Fabian, www.fabianspcae.com "Reminiscent of Conrad Aiken's classic Silent Snow, Secret Snow. It's an enthralling story with mounting tension and plenty of suspense." —Tony-paul De Vissage, www.tony-paul.com "A gruesome and fantastic read. Mather…

THE HARVESTING by HWA Member Melanie Karsak

Author: Melanie Karsak It's all fun and games until someone ends up undead. Though Layla reluctantly returns home to rural Hamletville after a desperate call from her psychic grandmother, she could never have anticipated the horror of what Grandma Petrovich has foreseen. The residents of Hamletville will need Layla's help if they are to survive the zombie apocalypse that's upon them. But that is not the only problem. With mankind silenced, it soon becomes apparent that we were never alone. As the beings living on the fringe seek to reclaim power, Layla must find a way to protect the ones…

THE DEAD SHERIFF: ZOMBIE DAMNATION by HWA Member Mark Justice

Author: Mark Justice An undead avenger controlled by the talisman of an opportunistic sidekick. But where magic and money mingle, Hell itself will follow. Book one of an ongoing series, "The Dead Sheriff: Zombie Damnation," takes the weird western genre down the path of zombies, magic and demons and blends it with the classic adventure dime novels of the frontier days to spin an unforgettable and haunting yarn. Publisher: Evileye Books Release_Date: October 2012 ISBN_10: 0984880011 ISBN_13: 9780984880010

THE AFTERDARK CHRONICLES: SURVIVAL by HWA Members R.L. and M.R. Reeves

Author: R.L. and M.R. Reeves Steve Shore awakens to find that the dead are rising and devouring the living. Now, separated from his wife by thousands of miles, Steve and his daughter Danni must make a dangerous journey across the United States to reunite their family. Along the way they will discover something darker driving the chaos, but they don't have time to find answers...only survive. Publisher: Blysster Press Release_Date: May, 2012 ISBN_10: 0984015124 ISBN_13: 978-0984015122

WITCH HUNTS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE BURNING TIMES by HWA Member Rocky Wood, Lisa Morton (authors) and Greg Chapman (illustrator)

Author: Rocky Wood, Lisa Morton (authors) and Greg Chapman (illustrator) For nearly three centuries, as the Black Death rampaged through Europe and the Reformation tore the Church apart, tens of thousands were arrested as witches and subjected to trial, torture, and execution, including being burned alive. This graphic novel examines the background; the methods of the witch hunters; who stood to profit; the brave few who protested; and how the trials finally faded as Enlightenment replaced fear and superstition with reason and science. The book examines famed witch hunters Heinrich Kramer, architect of the infamous Malleus Maleficarum; Matthew Hopkins, Englandâ…

THE DONORS by HWA Member Jeffrey Wilson

Author: Jeffrey Wilson A powerful and evil force is at work in the Hospital where little Nathan is recovering from injuries at the hands of his Mom's abusive ex-boyfriend. Demonic looking men with pale faces and glowing eyes lurk in the shadows and, worse, it appears that someone is harvesting skin and organs from living-- and awake-- donors against their will. In his dreams, little Nathan can see these demons in their true form-- evil creatures who feed on the fear and hatred they help create in their victims. Nathan's only ally is the young Doctor who cares for him.…

THE HAUNTED MANSION PROJECT: YEAR ONE by HWA Member Editor E.S. Magill

Editor: E.S. Magill In the fall of 2010, ten horror writers met at a real haunted mansion to spend four days together. Joining them were a group of paranormal investigators who studied the house and reported their findings. This anthology is a collection of the fiction, poetry, journals, real impressions, and investigative conclusions created at or inspired by that weekend. Find out what scares horror authors: E.S. Magill, Rain Graves, Nikki Boscia, Loren Rhoads, Sephera Giron, Kim Richards, Yvonne Navarro, Weston Ochse, Christian Colvin, Dan Weidman, and S.G. Browne. Proceeds from this anthology go toward future Haunted Mansion events. TOC:…