ON TURPIN’S HEAD by Mike McNichols

Author: Mike McNichols ON TURPIN'S HEAD The ghost that haunts Heathrow Airport is being hunted. Joey Birdwell’s plan to travel through England is interrupted by two unexpected experiences: His infatuation with the beautiful and mysterious Lydia, and a visit from two vampires who want to use Joey’s inherited gifts of sight to track down the rogue that is preying on women in the vicinity of London Heathrow. The dreams and visions that haunt Joey, like those experienced by his mother, create access to the vampire world. As evil unfolds, Joey is given—by some unknown source—insight into the dark secrets of…

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!: WASHINGTON DECEASED by Lisa Morton

Author: Lisa Morton ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!: WASHINGTON DECEASED A stand-alone novel that ties into the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE anthology series created by Stephen Jones. As the United States attempts to recover from the devastating aftermath of a zombie uprising, Secret Service Director Sandra Steele tries to protect the new President from both the undead and the machinations of rival politicians and ruthless corporations. Meanwhile, a young man named Kevin Moon makes his way across the great American wasteland…and discovers along the way that he may be the most valuable man on earth. Publisher: Constable & Robinson Publication Date: May 6, 2014

MY NAME IS DEE by Robin Wyatt Dunn

Author: Robin Wyatt Dunn MY NAME IS DEE My Name is Dee is a novel for the educated reader who enjoys noir action, intrigue and dark romance, for the child in all of us who wants to go on adventures, and for the fearful adult too who marvels at the terrifying scale of this universe. Battling aliens, journeying between dimensions, exploring the immensity of the human mind, and saving a woman are on the docket for John Dee in this noir adventure. He must choose what moral course his life is going to take: can he stand to still wear…
Public Letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon.com

Public Letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon.com

A Public Letter to: Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon.com The Horror Writers Association (HWA) (www.horror.org) is a nonprofit organization of more than 1100 writers and publishing professionals around the world, dedicated to promoting horror literature and the interests of those who write it. We are writing to bring to your attention the fact that Amazon’s customer review policy does not go far enough to protect authors and publishers from bullying, harassment and inappropriate reviews. Currently, the Amazon policy protects authors and publishers from “profanity or spiteful remarks,” though it’s not clear what would be considered “spiteful,” and this rule appears not…

TOPSIDERS by Scott Tyson

Author: Scott Tyson TOPSIDERS An abandoned house by the edge of the river. Uninhabited for decades. A secret as old as time itself. A truth hidden from the topsiders. But that’s about to change. When all the adults suddenly disappear, Mathew convinces his older brother that something is very wrong. Their search leads them to a place they never knew existed. A place that will have them question everything they knew about life. Soon, the truth. Publisher: Legumeman Books Publication Date: June 12, 2014

NAMELESS: THE DARKNESS COMES by Mercedes M. Yardley

Author: Mercedes M. Yardley NAMELESS: THE DARKNESS COMES Luna Masterson sees demons. She has been dealing with the demonic all her life, so when her brother gets tangled up with a demon named Sparkles, ‘Luna the Lunatic’ rolls in on her motorcycle to save the day. Armed with the ability to harm demons, her scathing sarcasm, and a hefty chip on her shoulder, Luna gathers the most unusual of allies, teaming up with a green-eyed heroin addict and a snarky demon ‘of some import.’ After all, outcasts of a feather should stick together...even until the end. Mercedes M. Yardley comes…

CAPTURED SOULS by Sephera Giron

Author: Sephera Giron CAPTURED SOULS Can science create the perfect lover? Or only a living hell? Dr. Miriam Frederick is a brilliant professor at a large university. But her latest experiments are decidedly unsanctioned and far more chilling than anyone could imagine. She is determined to answer questions that have plagued mankind for millennia. What is love? What is lust? Her first specimen is an author with a gift for language. Specimen Two is an athlete with amazing endurance. Specimen Three provides physical beauty. But once she has trapped her subjects, her twisted attempt to create the perfect lover will have…

PASSIONARIES by Tonya Hurley

Author: Tonya Hurley PASSIONARIES As we learned in Precious Blood, Agnes, Cecilia, and Lucy “may be saints, [but] they are definitely not angels” (Kirkus Reviews). They watched as Sebastian sacrificed himself for what he believed in, and now they have choices to make of their own. Will the girls trust in their destinies as saints and martyrs and perform the miracles as Sebastian instructed? Or will they lose faith in themselves and each other in his absence? Time is running out for them to make a decision, and the fate of the world lies in the balance. “Brooklyn is the…

THE ASHGATE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LITERARY AND CINEMATIC MONSTERS by Jeffrey Weinstock

Author: Jeffrey Weinstock THE ASHGATE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LITERARY AND CINEMATIC MONSTERS From vampires and demons to ghosts and zombies, interest in monsters in literature, film, and popular culture has never been stronger. This concise Encyclopedia provides scholars and students with a comprehensive and authoritative A-Z of monsters throughout the ages. It is the first major reference book on monsters for the scholarly market. Over 200 entries written by experts in the field are accompanied by an overview introduction by the editor. Generic entries such as 'ghost' and 'vampire' are cross-listed with important specific manifestations of that monster. In addition to…

RETURN OF THE MOTHMAN by Michael Knost

Author: Michael Knost RETURN OF THE MOTHMAN  Ted Browning moves back to his rural hometown of Logan, West Virginia after learning his grandmother is dying of cancer. When he hears talk of Mothman sightings he thinks the third shift miners at Bear Creek Coal Company are merely trying to switch to the day shift—that’s all before a series of events put him in direct confrontation with the winged creature. Ted is forced to face his inner demons in order to protect the very loved ones he’s kept at a distance for twenty years . . . and to let go…

HWA Horror Poetry Showcase

To celebrate National Poetry Month, the Horror Writers Association will be holding their inaugural HWA Horror Poetry Showcase in April 2014. Open to all poets, the Showcase will be accepting submissions throughout the month of April with four poems chosen by HWA member judges to be honored on the HWA website. Submission Guidelines: Submissions will be accepted via Submittable from April 1-30, 2014 and all rights will remain with the poets. Those interested in submitting should visit www.horror.org on or after 1 April to access the submissions link. We are looking for more than "blood, guts, worms," etc. Just being…
The HWA on Twitter  – An Announcement

The HWA on Twitter – An Announcement

For the past several weeks, Jenn Mattern (A.J. Klein), Doug Murano, Angel Leigh McCoy, and JG Faherty, together with President Rocky Wood and Vice President Lisa Morton, have been putting the finishing touches on the HWA's new Twitter goals, posting rules, and usage guidelines. In summary, they are as follows: Jenn Mattern will be managing the Twitter accounts/feeds. Under her supervision, select officers and page coordinators will be able to forward information for posting on the HWA Twitter pages (@HorrorWriters and @StokerAwards) and also create direct and send direct tweets. These tweets will provide updates on the organization, industry news…

HERE WITH THE SHADOWS by Steve Rasnic Tem

Author: Steve Rasnic Tem HERE WITH THE SHADOWS "Among my favorite reads are those early 20th century single author ghost & supernatural collections by such British authors as Burrage, Caldecott, Cowles, Dare, & M.R. James—stories characterized by indirection, suggestion, and the careful selection of words. I've long wanted to bring out my own version of such a book clearly influenced by my exposure to those collections." In February Ireland's Swan River Press presents Steve Rasnic Tem's Here with the Shadows, a volume of supernatural impressions and quiet vacancies, in an edition of 400 copies. Between these covers lurk the spectres…

BLOOD KIN by Steve Rasnic Tem

Author: Steve Rasnic Tem BLOOD KIN Steve Rasnic Tem's Blood Kin is pure Southern Gothic with a sharp left turn into horror. The influences streaming through this hybrid include William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, Cormac McCarthy, Fred Chappell, Manley Wade Wellman, and the mountains and hollows of the author's southern Appalachian childhood. Alternating between the 1930s and the present day, this dark vision of ghosts, witchcraft, secret powers, snake-handling, kudzu, Melungeons, and the Great Depression is told from the dual points of view of Michael Gibson and his grandmother Sadie. Michael has retreated from the world to the quiet…

PROJECT CAIN by Geoffrey Girard

Author: Geoffrey Girard PROJECT CAIN Sixteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff's life changes forever when the man he'd thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called 'Project CAIN.' There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer's DNA. There are others like Jeff -- those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The…
HWA Scholarship Awarded to Jim Pyre

HWA Scholarship Awarded to Jim Pyre

Starting from 2014 the Horror Writers Association (HWA) has instituted the Horror Writers Association Scholarship, open to all members of the HWA. The Scholarship is designed to assist in the professional development of writers in the horror/dark fantasy genre. The first Horror Writers Association Scholarship has been awarded to Jim Pyre, a pseudonym for a writer who grew up in Chicago but now lives in a small farming town. Jim lives in Ohio with his wife and many, many cats. A Midwesterner by birth, he grew up in Chicago and graduated from a law school in Columbus, Ohio. He reads,…
Shelley Scholarship goes to Erinn Kemper

Shelley Scholarship goes to Erinn Kemper

Starting from 2014 the Horror Writers Association (HWA) has instituted the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship, open to female writers who are members of the HWA. The Scholarship is designed to address the unseen, but real, barriers limiting the amount of horror fiction being published by women. The first Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship has been awarded to Erinn Kemper, a Canadian writer who resides in Costa Rica. Erinn Kemper (E. L. Kemper) grew up in an isolated mill town in coastal British Columbia, Canada. From there she moved to the city to study Philosophy at the University of Victoria. Over the…

CAIN’S BLOOD by Geoffrey Girard

Author: Geoffrey Girard CAIN'S BLOOD A terrifying novel about the evil in each of us... Developing new bio-weapons, the US Department of Defense has secretly cloned the world's most notorious murderers, to study their DNA and isolate the genetic of evil. The program contains dozens of young men who have no clue of their evil heritage -- including John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and the Son of Sam. Enacting a twisted game of nature vs. nurture, the scientists raise some of the clones with loving families and others in abusive circumstances to match their genetic forefathers. When the most dangerous…
In March: “Found Poetry” with Terrie Leigh Relf & HWA Poetry Showcase Announcement

In March: “Found Poetry” with Terrie Leigh Relf & HWA Poetry Showcase Announcement

Poet Terrie Leigh Relf talks about “Found Poetry” and shares a little bit of herself and her own work this month. Personally, before reading this article, I’d never heard of “Found Poetry” and it’s a fascinating literary field. Special thanks to Terrie for pulling back the curtain a little on a lesser known form of poetry. ☠ What Is Found Poetry and Where-Oh-Where Can It Be? by Terrie Leigh Relf While on staff at Alban Lake Publishing, one of our regular contributors and a writer friend, Lauren McBride, asked me about found poetry. When she requested an article on this…